


Reproduction

by Hester_Of_Ravenswood, TheLonelyDraconequus



Series: RWBY, but Pollination Style [9]
Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, No Smut, No enabler, Surprise Pairing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 09:20:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 102
Words: 174,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23848846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hester_Of_Ravenswood/pseuds/Hester_Of_Ravenswood, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLonelyDraconequus/pseuds/TheLonelyDraconequus
Summary: Despite how dirty the title is, still no smut and no enabler! Just some fun pollination fluff and rare pairs!
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee/Yang Xiao Long, Coco Adel/Velvet Scarlatina, Ilia Amitola/Pyrrha Nikos/Sun Wukong, Jaune Arc/Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Neopolitan/Ciel Soleil, Oscar Pine/Whitley Schnee, Penny Polendina/Winter Schnee, Qrow Branwen/Elm Ederne
Series: RWBY, but Pollination Style [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1661938
Comments: 1344
Kudos: 120





	1. The Dust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Hope you guys are still with me!

Blake took a deep breath.

"Isn't it... a little early for this? I mean we just started break...," the faunus said slowly.

"Blake, do you want little baby kittens or not?" Yang asked.

Blake rolled her eyes and let out a huff.

"Yang, they're not going to be cat faunus... probably. I mean, one might, but that's not, like, a guarantee," Blake said.

"Bet they'll be cute little kitties!" Ruby said excitedly.

"They might not even be faunus!" Blake cried, throwing her hands up into the air.

"Quiet! I'm reading!" Weiss snapped.

"Thought you already knew how all this worked," Yang said.

"I need to double check! Don't want this going wrong, right?" Weiss asked, intently looking down at her scroll.

"And have Ruby explode in your face like she did when you met?" Yang asked.

Blake and Weiss laughed while Ruby huffed, elbowing her sister in the rib cage.

"Okay. Okay! I'm ready! Who's first?" Weiss asked.

Ruby glanced at her sister, bouncing on the tips of her toes.

Yang huffed, shoving her sister in the back, causing her to stumble forward.

"Just don't take too long, Rubes," she said, laughing as she walked forward. "Don't want Weiss getting pregnant _twice_ , do we?"

Ruby skipped and grabbed Blake and Weiss by the hand, dragging them into the bedroom.

Blake resisted for a moment, looking around the hotel.

"I think we should take a few days to think. The break is a few weeks, and we still have to find a house and make sure to manage our finances-"

"Blakey, calm down! It's going to be _fine_!" Ruby said, clearly excited considering she was practically shaking.

"But a house!" Blake all but whined as she was pulled. She reached her free hand out toward Yang, who laughed.

"Thought you'd already looked up some houses before, Kit-Kat," Yang said.

Blake grabbed the door frame.

"But we don't have a house! Where are we gonna live?!" Blake cried.

"We'll get a house, Blake! Now come on!" Weiss said with an eye roll.

The faunus let out a long breath, letting go of the door frame.

"Do you not want kids?" Ruby asked, pausing.

"I do, Ruby, I do, it's just... it's a lot! Just...," Blake paused, taking a deep breath. "I just want to make sure they have a good life!"

"They will, Blakey! They'll have four loving mothers that will do **anything** for them! Not to mention one very nervous mother that's going to do _wayyyy_ too much research," Ruby said, setting her head against Blake's shoulder. "And I mean _way_ too much research. They're going to have **great** lives."

"Not to mention the dozens of aunts and uncles that would literally do _anything_ for them," Yang said. "Especially Sun. He's probably going to be waiting outside the door while you two give birth."

Weiss rolled her eyes, pulling Blake over to her.

"You do know that we're going to be great parents to two lovely children, and there's nothing your constant worrying is going to be able to do about that," the former heiress said. "It's inevitable. You might as well give up on having demon children now. Their lives are going to be so perfectly boring. Give in."

"That's the most threatening way I've ever been comforted before in my life," Blake said with a chuckle.

"Good. Now you better stay comforted until this is over, because we still have two babies to make before we start looking at houses again," Yang said.

She shoved Blake into the room with a small smirk.

"Now get going! Go make a baby, baby!"

Blake rolled her eyes as Ruby reached her foot back, kicking the door closed.

Yang rolled her eyes, grabbing her scroll and starting to text Sun.

 **Yang:** _Yeah, I need the addresses. Blake's freaking out._

 **Lesbro:** _Got it. Not surprised that she got freaked out. Honestly, I'm surprised that she's going through it at all._

-

"Okay... so what do we do?" Ruby asked happily, leaning over to put her head against Blake's shoulder.

Weiss grabbed the dust piece, pulling it out of the box gently, and put it in Ruby's lap.

Ruby looked at it with a mixture of wonder and hesitation.

"Okay! Blake, give me your hand," Weiss said, guiding the faunus until her palm was set against the dust beside Ruby's and her own.

"What now?" Blake asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We activate it," Weiss responded, guiding the dust and their hands toward Ruby's stomach and setting it against it.

Ruby's eyes widened as the dust started to glow. It blazed the colors of their auras, alternating at increasing speeds until it was impossible to tell which color it was. Finally, the colors melded together into one, glowing so brightly that it lit up the entire room with its brilliance.

"Uh, Weiss?" Ruby asked, glancing away from the dust and at her wife with a hint of worry. "Is it supposed to be doing this? Do we _do_ something now?"

Weiss glanced up at her, blinking slightly and using her free hand to wipe away tears.

"Uh, no. No, we don't... we just need to wait until it's over."

Blake reached her hand out to set it on Weiss' knee, frowning.

"What's wrong?" she asked quietly.

"Nothing's wrong, it's just...," Weiss laughed quietly and wiped the rest of her tears away. "It's silly, really. I already knew..."

"Knew what?" Ruby prompted with a mix of excitement and comfort.

"The dust. It works by mixing the auras of the parents, and... the faster the auras mix, the closer... the easier it is, the closer the parents are."

Blake smiled, leaning forward to press her forehead against Weiss' own.

"So when it stopped switching colors..."

Weiss nodded and laughed when Ruby bounced up and down happily, leaning against both of her wives.

"Was that quick?" Blake asked.

"Faster than ever before documented," Weiss replied, making both of them laugh.

"It better not be faster with my sister," Ruby said.

Blake rolled her eyes.

"How could it? It took, like, less than a second," the faunus said.

Blake and Ruby started to tear up as they watched the dust start to dim.

"What's wrong?!" Ruby cried.

"Nothing! Nothing's wrong, Ruby! Just watch," Weiss said gently.

The three stared in awe as the dust started to disappear, seeping through Ruby's clothes and into her stomach.

"What? What happened?!"

"It worked!" Weiss said excitedly, grabbing both of them in her arms and pulling them closer.

Ruby and Blake both stared in shock.

"So... I'm pregnant?!" Ruby cried.

"Well, maybe. It's not... for sure, I guess, but... pretty much, yes. Yes, you are," Weiss said with a small chuckle.

Ruby's eyes widened and her hands went to cover her mouth.

Blake wiped a few tears away, laughing.

"Why do you look so surprised? This was _your_ idea."

"It's just... it didn't seem real until...," Ruby trailed off, eyes wide.

Blake panicked.

"Are you having second thoughts?! Because I mean this would be way too late of a time for you to be having second thoughts. This is it."

Ruby laughed, leaning against Blake.

"No, Blakey, no, I'm not having any second thoughts. I'm just...," Ruby laughed, wiping at her eyes again, "I'm just so happy."

Weiss pulled closer.

"Yeah. Yeah, me too," the former heiress said.

Blake had a sudden look of surprise and joy, grinning.

"I am too," she said with a bit of shock.

"Mama Blakey?" Ruby asked, elbowing her.

Blake laughed and shook her head, grabbing Ruby and Weiss around the waists to pull them closer.

They sat there for an indeterminable amount of time before there was a knock at the door.

"Are you guys alright?" Yang called.

Ruby wiped at her eyes, laughing.

"Yeah... yeah, we're great!" she said, starting to push herself to her feet.

Blake scrambled up, grabbing Ruby by the hands and easing her to a standing position.

"Hey, hey, be careful," she said gently, putting one hand on her waist to steady her.

Ruby gave her a small frown.

"What? Blakey, I'm fine," she said.

"You're _pregnant_ , Sugar," Blake replied, grabbing her hand. "Don't stress yourself too much."

"Blakey, I might not even **be** pregnant, don't worry," Ruby said. "Don't treat me like I'm made of glass!"

"Of course, of course! I would never," Blake said... but she walked behind Ruby with a slightly worried expression on her face.

Weiss glanced at the faunus, a slightly worried look on her face.

"Blake, seriously, don't overreact," Weiss said.

"I won't, I won't! I promise!" Blake replied.

Blake hurried forward and held the door open for Ruby, who smiled at her.

Yang ran forward and grabbed her sister around the waist, lifting her into the air and starting to twirl her around in a circle. Ruby laughed gleefully, putting her hands on Yang's shoulders to balance herself better.

"Yang!" Blake snapped. "Put her down!"

Yang hesitated before setting Ruby down gently.

"What's wrong?" the blond asked, watching with concern as Blake hurried forward to check on Ruby.

"She's _pregnant_ , Yang! You can't twirl a pregnant woman!" Blake snapped angrily, running her hand gently down Ruby's back with a worried expression.

"Oh, dust! Right! Sorry! Rubes, are you okay?!" Yang asked,.

Ruby rolled her eyes.

"I'm fine! Calm down!" she cried. "I'm barely even pregnant!"

Blake nodded.

"Of course, you're right! How about you go have a seat while we go get Weiss knocked up?" Blake asked.

Weiss rolled her eyes while the two sisters laughed.

"Alright, alright," Ruby said, idly glancing down at her stomach. Blake watched her take a seat with a fond smile on her face.

The faunus then turned to Yang, grabbing her hand. As they walked into the bedroom, Blake yanked her down, hissing into her ear.

"If you so much as _look_ at Ruby the wrong way, I'll make you sleep on the couch for the next month," Blake whispered.

Yang's eyes widened.

"Oh, and Weiss too. You are walking on _eggshells_ for the next nine months, you hear me?" Blake asked.

Yang nodded quickly.

Blake nodded, smiling and pulling back

"Great! Just remember that!" she said, patting Yang on the back with a small chuckle.

Yang forced an awkward laugh and nodded nervously.

"Of course! How could I forget?" she asked.

Blake nodded as the pair took a seat on the bed. Weiss joined them after a moment, taking a long, deep breath in.

"Reconsidering, Angel? Because I can totally take over for you. Be a great baby carrier. I'm already great at eating way too much chocolate and then throwing it up later," Yang said.

Weiss scoffed, shaking her head.

"No, I'm fine, just... just a little bit nervous."

Blake grabbed her hand, squeezing it.

"Are you sure that you'll be alright?" she asked.

Yang snickered slightly.

"Sleeping on the couch," Blake whispered as Weiss pulled another piece of dust out of the box, setting it in her lap gently.

Yang inhaled slowly.

"Maybe I _should_ get pregnant," she said.

Weiss frowned, glancing between Yang and Blake.

"No, we decided it should be me," Weiss said with a slightly defensive tone to her voice.

"But Kit-Kat keeps threatening me," Yang said.

Blake glared at her, elbowing her in the ribs.

"What?" Weiss asked.

"Nothing, Weiss. Don't worry about it. Don't worry about _anything_ , Angel. You're going to have a stress free pregnancy," Blake said, reaching forward to put her hand on the dust.

Weiss nodded slowly, looking between her wives with a slight air of confusion.

Blake waved her off, grabbing Yang's hand in her own and setting it down on the dust.

"I'm kinda confused," Yang said as Weiss started to set the dust against her stomach.

"Just go with it," Blake whispered, setting her head against Yang's shoulder and smiling up at her.

Yang laughed, putting her arm around Blake's waist.

Weiss let the dust touch her stomach with a wide smile on her face.

"Woah, wait, what's happening?!" Yang cried as the dust started to shift colors at an incredible speed until they melded together.

"Same speed?" Blake asked a grinning Weiss.

"Yeah," she said gently. "It was."

"What?" Yang asked, but she lost her confusion and replaced it with awe as she gently stared at the dust, which had started to seep into Weiss' stomach.

"Dust," she muttered, grabbing both of her wives and holding them tighter. "Is... is that good?"

Blake laughed, wiping at her tears.

"Yeah. Yeah, it's good," she whispered.

Weiss nodded slowly, watching her stomach as it slowly stopped glowing.

Blake gave Yang a fond look, smiling at her wives.

"I love you," the faunus said. "Both of you. And Ruby, but she's not here right now."

Yang laughed gently, pulling both of them closer.

"I think that means that Weiss is pregnant, but what do I know? I hope it does! And... I love you too."

Weiss and Blake both chuckled, leaning closer to Yang.

When they stood, Blake helped her to her feet.

"I'm fine, Blake!" Weiss snapped.

"Of course, of course!" Blake said, wrapping her arm around her wife's waist.

Yang opened the door after a dark glare from Blake, letting out an uncomfortable laugh.

Ruby hopped to her feet, running over.

"Did it work?!" she cried.

Weiss nodded, laughing quietly as Ruby wiped her eyes for tears. She leaned into the touch, letting her head fall against Ruby's shoulder.

"Yeah. Yeah, it did."

"We're gonna be moms!" Ruby cried, jumping up in excitement.

Blake grabbed her wife before she could hit the ground.

Ruby glanced back at her, frowning.

Blake grinned at her, pulling her back into her arms for a hug, but she was careful to hold her beneath the stomach.

Ruby laughed and let her head fall back against Blake's shoulder, smiling up at her wife.

"Hey, how about you two take a nap while Yang and I go look at a few house options?" Blake asked.

Weiss stopped mid-yawn.

"What? No, we're fine."

Ruby covered a yawn with one hand, shaking her head.

"What? No, no, we're fine!" she said.

Blake raised an eyebrow, holding Ruby a bit higher as she walked toward the hotel bedroom, leaning forward and setting her down on the bed.

"We'll send you a text when we get to the first one," Blake said as she set Ruby down on the bed, giving her a quick kiss and tucking her under the covers.

"Blakey, I'm really not that tired. It didn't take that much out of me," she said, but she yawned anyways, curling up slightly in bed.

"Yang Belladonna-Schnee, put me down!" Weiss snapped as she was carried into the bedroom.

"Be careful with your words, Angel!" Yang said as she set the other girl down on the bed beside Ruby.

"This better not be a prequel to how you treat me for the next nine months," Weiss warned as Ruby pulled her closer, setting a head on her shoulder, "because you better not be treating us like children."

"We won't," Blake whispered as she turned off the lights, slipping out of the room with a small smile on her face.

Yang closed the door behind her, turning to face the faunus.

"We're pregnant," Blake breathed with a mix of disbelief and excitement.

Yang grinned at her, letting out a sound of shock as Blake threw herself into her arms, grabbing her around the shoulders.

"We're pregnant!" Blake repeated enthusiastically, voice noticeably louder.

Yang laughed, grabbing Blake tightly around the waist as she spun, much like earlier with her sister.

"We're pregnant!" Yang replied happily, making Blake laugh happily.

"I can't believe it!" she said gently, holding Yang tighter.

"Uh, we're the ones that are pregnant, so can you two keep it down?" Weiss called from the other room.

"Right! Sorry!" Blake called, laughing as she buried her face in her wife's neck.

"I can't believe it," Blake repeated, whispering into Yang's ear.

"I know!" Yang hissed. She started to walk forward, still holding Blake up, and opened the door.

Once they were out of the hotel (having walked through the entirety of the hotel with Blake still being held in Yang's arms and gaining dozens of odd looks from the people around them), the two let out loud cries of excitement.


	2. House Hunting

Blake ran a hand through her hair and let out a sigh.

"You okay, Kit-Kat?" Yang asked as she grabbed Blake's hand.

Blake threaded their fingers together, smiling at her wife.

"I'm fine. Just-"

"Worried?" Yang finished for her.

Blake laughed in a tired fashion.

"Yeah. Worried. Definitely worried."

Yang pulled her closer, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"How did I know?" the blond asked.

"No clue," Blake replied, letting her head fall against Yang's shoulder.

"Where are we going?" Yang asked.

"To look at houses."

"Yeah, but what houses?" Yang asked.

"Close ones," Blake said.

Yang raised an eyebrow.

"Are you always this specific?" Yang asked.

Blake hummed in response, making Yang laugh.

"How are we getting there?" the blond asked.

"We're getting a ride!" Blake called, voice getting louder as a familiar rumble came within earshot.

"From who?" Yang asked with a slightly nervous expression on her face.

"Does it matter?" Blake replied conversationally.

"Stop evading my questions, Belladonna."

"Belladonna-Schnee," Blake corrected.

"No, no, no! You lost the right to call yourself Belladonna-Schnee when you started evading questioning!"

"Fine! It's...," Blake trailed off as she said the name.

"Speak up, Blake," Yang said.

"Taiyang! I called Taiyang!" Blake cried over the airship.

"Belladonna-Schnee, how dare you?!" Yang cried. "Ruby and I didn't even tell him yet!"

Blake laughed awkwardly.

"I... also called my parents."

"Belladonna!" Yang snapped.

"You can't divorce me by calling me by the wrong last name!" Blake said, laughing quietly. "Plus, we're not letting our babies be born to divorce parents."

"Don't mention the babies!" Yang hissed.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Blake said. "I... didn't tell my parents either."

"Then why did you invite them?!" Yang hissed as the airship's door opened.

"Because neither of us know anything about buying houses!" Blake replied, putting on a fake smile as she leaned against Yang's shoulder.

The airship hanger door opened up, revealing-

"Sun?!" Blake and Yang cried as one.

The monkey faunus grinned, tossing the pair a wink as he hopped outside.

"Hey! Did you-"

Yang laughed loudly to cover up his next words as their parents started to walk out of the airship.

"No idea what you're talking about!" the blond said while Blake nodded at him covertly. He grinned.

"So they're..."

Blake nodded again, and Sun bounced up and down excitedly, racing to their sides.

"Can I be the godfather?" he whispered.

Yang rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. You can be the godfather of the first two," the blond said.

"First two?" Blake asked, wide eyed.

Sun gave Yang finger guns, which Yang reciprocated happily.

"It is alright if he's the godfather, right?" Yang whispered as Taiyang stepped outside.

"Yeah. I mean, he is the reason we got engaged, right?" Blake asked, elbowing her.

Blake turned to face Sun, but he was already racing into the hotel.

"Room 356, right?" he called.

"Uh... yeah," Blake replied. "Don't wake them up!"

He held a thumbs up as he threw the door open.

"Where's Rubes and the Ice Queen," Taiyang asked as he threw his arm around Yang's shoulders.

"They're both taking a nap," Blake replied.

Taiyang frowned in confusion.

"Well wake them up! This is their future house we're talking about!" he said with a grin.

"No, they really should take a nap!" Blake said quickly, causing her parents, who had just walked up to join them, frown.

"Are they alright?" Ghira asked.

"Just... tired! They used a... lot of dust today!"" Yang said.

"Are their auras drained?" Taiyang asked, frowning in confusion.

"Um... kind of. All of ours are, actually. Bit of fighting today. You know, teaching stuff," Blake lied.

Yang glanced at her, eyes wide.

"Yeah, haha. So we should really let them sleep! Let's... let's get going!" Yang cried, pulling Blake forward by the arm she had around her waist.

"Of course!" Blake replied, her voice slightly higher than it usually was.

That caused Ghira and Kali to stare at her, frowning.

"Who flew you here?" Yang asked, attempting to change the topic.

"Your father had a life before he decided to settle down and have you," Taiyang said, reaching a hand up to mess with Yang's hair.

Kali and Ghira both pulled Blake in for a tight hug.

"Where are we going first?" Yang asked.

"To find a home!" Taiyang cried. "So what's the budget?"

"Uh, one second," Blake said, reaching into her bag to grab the giant binder that Sun had created.

"It's right here," she said, shoving the binder into Taiyang's arms.

His eyes widened as he scrambled to make sure it didn't fall.

"Page four hundred and five," Yang said, grinning.

"Are you serious?" Taiyang asked, eyes wide.

"You know Sun," Yang replied. "Do you think he's kidding?"

Taiyang nodded and shook his head, grabbing the binder and flipping through.

"This is... surprisingly thorough. And the numbers are great! Let's go look at some houses!"

"Do you have some houses set up to look at?" Yang asked, surprised.

Taiyang rolled her eyes, grabbing his daughter and pulling her toward the airship.

"Of course! I started looking as soon as your wife called me."

"Which one?" Yang asked, elbowing him in the ribs.

"The weird one," Taiyang said, smirking.

"Still not specific enough," Yang said.

"Careful, Xiao Long," Blake called.

Yang laughed and shook her head.

"Come on, old man," she said.

Just as Blake was about to enter the airship, Kali grabbed her by the waist.

"What are you two hiding so poorly?" she asked.

"Nothing!" Blake said with a squeak.

Ghira and Kali looked at her.

"Let's get on the airship! Let's go!" she said, racing onto the airship.

Kali slipped her hand into Ghira's.

"We'll get her to tell us," Kali whispered, making her husband laugh quietly and pull her a bit closer.

"I know," Ghira said.

-

Yang shook her head as they landed.

"Oh no, this house is _way_ too small," she said, shaking her head. "Next one! Next one!"

"What? This is a perfectly fine first house! It has a bedroom, a kitchen, a spare room-"

"Nope, not big enough," Yang said, shaking her head.

"What, you expecting to have five or six people living there?" Taiyang asked.

A beat of silence.

"Of course not!" Yang said belatedly.

"Oh, no, definitely not!" Blake continued, holding her wife's hands tighter.

Yang reciprocated that action, pulling her closer.

Taiyang stared at them.

"We just... want a bigger house!" Yang said.

"Yang, the title of the binder was 'Belladonna-Schnee Family Baby Plan,'" Taiyang said.

Kali and Ghira's eyes widened, staring at Blake with wide eyes.

"Damn it, Sun," Yang muttered under her breath. "Blake, why did you give it to him?!"

"Because it had the budget!" Blake hissed to her wife.

Yang groaned, but the sound was drowned out by the noise of Kali squealing.

"Oh my dust! You're thinking about having kids?!" she cried.

Blake and Yang glanced at each other.

"Yeah! Of course! Just thinking about it!" Yang said quickly.

Taiyang's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Oh my dust. Are... are they pregnant?! Is one of them pregnant?!" he cried.

Blake fell against Yang's side as the blond held her around the waist tightly.

Blake's ears drooped as her parents stared at her.

"Nope! They're just tired!" Yang said, her voice almost cracking.

Taiyang stared at his daughter, shaking his head.

"I thought I raised you better than to be the worst liar in the world."

"You raised me not to lie! This is your fault!" Yang hissed.

"Who's pregnant?!" Kali hissed, reaching forward to grab her daughter tightly, pulling her in for a hug.

"Uh... both of them," Yang said awkwardly.

"Both of them?!" Taiyang hissed.

"Seriously?!" Ghira called, eyes wide.

"Yeah...," Blake said, wincing at her father's loss of his composure. That _never_ happened.

"You're having two kids... and you didn't even tell your father," Taiyang said slowly, staring at Yang.

"If it helps, they just got pregnant less than an hour ago," Yang said.

"They _what_?! How do you-I mean, how do you know they're... who was the sperm donor?!" Kali cried.

"That's... a much longer story," Blake said slowly.

-

After a very long story, the group landed at the next house.

"Hey! This one's better!" Yang said happily, hurrying to the hanger door.

Blake grabbed her hand as the blond passed by so that she was pulled to her feet and away from the awkward silence.

"Is this one big enough?" Taiyang asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah! Definitely! Look, there's four bedrooms!" Yang said, looking at the paper in front of the doorway.

"That's great! Each of them could have their own room, and we could have a spare for guests," Blake said quietly, dragging her wife toward the front door.

"Send a picture to them?" Yang asked.

"Oh, I'm sending _so_ many pictures," Blake said.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly, and they saw _several_ houses, but the fourth one was the house that stuck out the most.

It wasn't incredibly large, considering they'd seen some with up to eight rooms.

But there were five, with an upstairs portion. Yang and Blake had loved it, considering the master bedroom had been big enough for a giant bed for all four of them. There had even been a nice kitchen and living room that had more than enough room for six family members.

The real estate agent had shown them around, seeming rather overwhelmed with the large family they were surrounded by.

"So, are all five of you planning on living here?" she asked.

"Nope! This is where my daughter," Taiyang happily gestured at Yang, "her sister, and their wives will live with their two babies will live!"

The real estate agent, Harley, had laughed at the words.

Blake and Yang stared at her seriously.

"I'm sorry... I hate to ask, but... are you seriously?" Harley asked.

Yang grinned at her, throwing her arm around Blake's shoulder and pulling her closer.

"Definitely! Now, we were wondering if any of these rooms would be able to convert easily into nurseries," Yang said, leaning down to connect her lips with Blake's.

The real estate agent stared at them for a moment before forcing a smile across her face.

When they pulled back, Yang reached down and grabbed Blake's locket in her hand and opening it.

"That's our wonderful wife," she pointed at a picture of Weiss, "and that's my annoying little sister, who they decided they wanted to have tag along in our relationship."

Blake laughed quietly, reaching her arm up to gently shove Yang against her chest.

"They're... beautiful!" the real estate agent said awkwardly.

"And pregnant!" Yang said happily. Blake laughed awkwardly, nodding.

The real estate agent had seemed awkward for the rest of their interactions, clearly not sure if her clients were joking.

-

"You're going to be a great mother," Kali said as she hugged Blake, Ghira joining them after a moment.

"And I'm sure they will too."

Blake laughed quietly, pulling closer to her mother.

"I'm just... really nervous," she whispered.

Kali held her tighter, running a hand up and down her daughter's back.

"Oh, you're going to be a great mother. You really don't have to be nervous," Kali said. "You're going to be _amazing_ , so don't even stress."

Blake felt some of the tension leave her shoulders, and she sunk into the hug slightly.

"You think so?" Blake asked.

"I **know** so," Kali said. "And your father and I will be there for you every step of the way. You don't have to worry. And you're gonna have _babies_!"

"Can you tell Yang to stop saying we're gonna have kittens?" Blake whispered.

Kali and Ghira both laughed, shaking their heads.

"Not going to work until you have them," Kali replied.

Blake nodded, pulling back and wiping away tears. Her mother reached up to cradle her face.

"You really have nothing to worry about. I promise."

Blake let out a long breath, smiling into the touch.

"Thanks, mom," she whispered.

-

Yang slowly opened the door.

"Rubes? Angel?" she called.

Sun bounded up to the door, grinning.

"They just woke up! You must have taken a lot out of 'em, huh?" he asked, elbowing Yang.

Blake rolled her eyes, slapping at Sun's hand.

"That's not how it works, perv," she said.

Sun put a hand to his chest in outrage.

"I just took care of your _pregnant wives_ all day! You should be thanking me!" Sun cried.

"Shut up!" Weiss groaned, standing up and making her way to the doorway. She smiled and wrapped her arms around Yang's shoulders. "How'd it go?"

"It went **great**! We freaked out a real estate agent, found a great house, had to tell our parents that you're both pregnant, think we might make an offer on the house, but our parents are looking at it now, which is kinda weird," Yang said.

Weiss' eyes widened.

"No, no, it's fine! Everything's great!" Blake said, grabbing Weiss around the waist and pulling her into her own arms. "Don't worry about _anything_."

Blake leaned down to nuzzle her wife's neck, grinning as Weiss laughed, slapping at her hands.

Blake gave Yang a long, pointed look.

"Yeah! Everything went great, Weiss!"

Ruby joined them a second later, throwing her arms around Blake and Weiss, almost tackling them to the ground.

"Hey, Rubes, be careful," Yang said, grabbing her sister and steadying her.

"You don't have to treat me different, Yang," she said, squirming.

"I'm not, Rubes!" Yang said.

"Thanks for watching after them, Sun!" Blake said, kicking the door open further.

Weiss glared at her.

"He didn't have to _watch us_ , Blake! We're not kids!"

Sun hurried out of the room, making quiet goodbyes.

"Uh... we don't think that! We were just worried!" Yang said quickly.

"Pregnant women need to sleep _way_ longer than most people," Blake said.

"We're barely pregnant!" Ruby cried.

"Hey, I'm sorry. Don't worry," Blake said gently, running her hand up and down Ruby's arm.

Ruby and Weiss looked at each other sufferingly, both wondering if this was going to be how the rest of the pregnancy went.


	3. Surprise

Blake felt her scroll buzz, and she pulled it out of her pocket.

 **Mom:** _Knock knock._

Blake was about to respond with "what?" but there was a knock on the door.

"Oh dust," Blake breathed.

Yang stood and moved toward the door.

"Don't open it," Blake hissed.

"What? Why?" Yang asked.

"Blake?" Kali called.

Yang raised an eyebrow before moving to the door and opening it.

Blake forced a smile.

"Hey, mom... hey, dad! I didn't know that you two were still... I thought Taiyang flew you two back home," Blake said.

"How could we go back home when you four are _pregnant_! We're gonna have grandkids!" Kali said happily, racing forward and taking a seat beside Weiss.

"How are you feeling? Are you tired? Do you need anything? Some water? Food? Any cravings?" Kali asked.

Weiss looked a bit overwhelmed, pulling closer to Yang.

"I-I'm okay," Weiss replied, and Yang glanced at Blake.

"Mom, don't overwhelm her."

Kali leaned back and forced herself not to roll her eyes.

"So I'm assuming that you haven't felt a kick, right-"

"Mom, they haven't been pregnant for more than a day!" Blake said, flushing a light shade of red, laughing.

"Right, right!" Kali said, letting out a laugh. "I'm just so excited! You know, I wasn't sure that Blake would _ever_ settle down! When she was just a little kitten," Yang let out a quiet snicker at the word, causing Blake to reach around Ruby and smack her in the back of the head, "she used to talk about marriage, but since then... you know, she used to have this weird little crush on-"

Blake flushed a dark red.

"That's enough, mom!" she said quickly.

"Oh, that is _so_ not enough!" Yang cried, leaning forward and letting her elbows land on her knees. "Tell me _literally_ everything about that."

"No, no, it's really not that important-"

Kali waved her hand dismissively for Blake to be quiet.

"There was this little commercial that would always come on. It was a stupid commercial, really, but the way it would respond was always too cute to watch how Blake reacted," Kali said with a fond smile.

"Which commercial was it?" Yang pushed.

"Oh, give me a second, I can find it online," Kali said, pulling out her scroll with a small smile. "And it was always so weird that she liked it, considering it was a commercial for-"

"It's really not necessary!" Blake said quickly, face turning pink.

"Oh, it **definitely** is," Yang replied.

"Here it is!" Kali said excitedly, turning her scroll around for team RWBY to see.

Weiss watched with wide eyes as the commercial started.

It was a... very familiar one, that's for sure.

"Here at the Schnee Dust Company," a much younger version of Weiss' father walked across the screen, gesturing at several workers around him that were in a mine shaft, pickaxes pounding rhythmically against the walls, "we're a family company. Isn't that right, Weiss?"

A much younger version of Blake's wife stood beside her father, grinning excitedly at the camera.

"Yes!"

"How about you sing us a song?" Jacques asked with a fake smile.

Weiss started to sing happily, but the words were drowned out by Yang's voice.

"Wait, wait, wait! Did you," Yang burst out laughing, "did you have a thing for little Weiss?!"

Blake flushed, ears twitching slightly as she looked away.

"I... forgot about that video," she said.

Weiss suddenly seemed to realize what had happened, and she grinned.

"And we all thought that she was the _last_ one to realize her feelings for someone!" Weiss cried, leaning against Blake with a wide smile.

The faunus laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck and shaking her head.

"Uh, yeah. I mean... it wasn't that big of a deal-"

"She would make us rewatch the same commercial for _hours_ ," Kali said with a wide smile.

"Awww, Kit-Kat! That's so cute!" Yang said.

Weiss was smirking at her, and Blake let out a huff, rolling her eyes.

"I was like six," she said.

"And you were _in love_ with six year old Weiss," Yang said, reaching over her sister to rustle her wife's hair with a grin.

Blake slapped at her hand, rolling her eyes.

"That's so cute!" Ruby cried, leaning against Blake. "You had a crush on her when you were six and then you _married_ her!"

Blake flushed, smiling just slightly.

Weiss smirked.

"So little me had you wrapped around her finger. Now you're mothering me more than my own mom did. What happened?"

"You got pregnant," Blake said immediately, eyes darting to wife's stomach.

Weiss snapped her fingers to get Blake's attention.

"Hey, eyes off the zygote. My eyes are up here," Weiss said, glaring at her.

"That's our zygote too!" Yang cried.

"Do you know what a zygote is?" Weiss asked.

Yang hesitated.

"The point is, it's ours too."

"She doesn't know," Blake said levelly.

"Hey! I'm on your side!" Yang cried.

Blake hesitated.

"There's no sides, Yang. We're all in this together," Blake said slowly, glancing at Weiss and Ruby, who both stared at her with questioning expressions.

"Okay, we're getting off topic," Yang said, "you had a thing for little Weiss."

"That's not the topic," Blake said quickly. "The topic is that Ruby and Weiss are carrying our children."

Yang grimaced.

"Uh, no, please don't say that. Don't say that Rubes is carrying my child."

"Isn't she kind of? I mean you're gonna be the mom too," Weiss said with a small smirk, elbowing her wife.

Yang and Ruby both grimaced at the words.

"Okay! We can move on! We can move on!" Yang said, holding her hands up defensively.

Blake smirked, leaning against Ruby's side.

"Great!"

"So, what are you going to name them?" Kali asked, eyes darting to Weiss and Ruby's stomach.

"That's... a bit of a controversy. We all have our own ideas. I guess it would be best to wait until we know the genders," Weiss said.

Kali laughed, leaning against her husband.

"Maybe you could pick a name that works for both genders," she said.

Blake gave her a small glare.

"It was the only name we could agree to!" Kali said. "It was great that it worked for either a boy or a girl!"

Yang snickered and Blake slapped her in the back of the head gently.

"So _that's_ why your name's Blake!" the blond said.

"I hate you all," Blake hissed to her wives.

"So, how long are you two going to be in town?" Weiss asked, leaning against Yang and holding in a yawn.

"For a while," Kali said evasively.

"Mom, tell me you aren't moving into the hotel for the next few months," Blake said.

There was a beat of silence.

"Please tell me that."

"I can't," Kali said.

Blake forced a smile, grabbing Ruby's hands and holding them tightly.

"We want to be here to help!" Kali cried. "And to meet the babies!"

Blake glanced at Yang, leaning over Ruby to whisper in her ear.

"Tell me that your father isn't doing the same," she hissed.

"I don't think so," Yang said. "But you never know."

Blake forced a smile and pulled closer to her wives as if trying to draw strength from them.

"Great. That's just great."


	4. The Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think that my FBI agent, due to this story, now believes that I am married and we are expecting a baby from my search history.

Blake took a deep breath and started to pace back and forth.

"This really isn't that big of a deal. Do you want me to do this?" Yang asked, putting a hand on Blake's arm.

"No, no! I can do this! It really isn't that big of a deal! This is just...," Blake let out a long breath before pulling out her scroll and dialing a number.

"Hi! Yes, hello, I'd like to make a reservation-"

Yang stared at Blake, and the faunus ended the call.

"A reservation? Seriously?" Yang asked.

"I know! I know!" Blake snapped.

"You can't schedule a reservation at a-"

"Shut _up_ , Yang! I'm calling again!" Blake snapped.

"Don't try to make a reservation this time."

Blake hissed at her as she put the scroll to her ear.

"Hi," Blake hesitated and stopped herself from saying her name in case she messed up again, "I need to make an appointment. Well, two appointments, maybe? I don't know _exactly_ how it works," Blake glared at a laughing Yang, waving for her to leave the room, "but..."

Blake cursed and hung up the call.

"How in the name of _dust_ do I explain that two of my wives are pregnant?!" she hissed.

Yang rolled her eyes.

"Hand me the scroll, Blake."

"No! Dust, I can _do this_!" the faunus snapped, dialing the number again.

"Hi! I need to make an appointment or two for... two pregnant individuals. They're both three days pregnant, and we need a prenatal appointment for both of them. Maybe together?"

There was silence on the phone.

"Ma'am, you've called this number five times. Is this a prank?"

"No! No, no, no, no! This is not a prank! I'm sorry!"

Yang burst out laughing.

"Is someone else on the line?" the worker asked, making Blake sigh.

"No, that's... that's just my wife laughing at me for how many times I've failed at this. I'll get her to shut up."

Blake shoved Yang out of the room and slammed the door shut behind her.

"How do you even know they're pregnant?!" the worker snapped, making Blake groan. "It's too early to use a pregnancy test."

"We uh... we used the dust? From Atlas? I'm sure you heard about it, considering you work in the medical field."

There was a beat of silence.

"Are you serious? Because this is a federal offense."

"I'm serious! I swear!" Blake cried.

"Alright... name?"

"Uh... my name or-"

"The patients!" the worker snapped.

"Right! Uh, sorry! Ruby and Weiss Belladonna-Schnee."

"Hang up."

"What?!" Blake cried.

"Stop with these prank calls. Hang up before I write down your number."

"What did I do?!" Blake snapped.

"Weiss _Schnee_? Seriously?"

Blake let out a long breath, shaking her head with wide eyes.

"Weiss **Belladonna** -Schnee, my _wife_ , yes!" Blake snapped.

A beat of silence.

"Do you really want to do this?"

"Damn it! Weiss!" she called, holding the scroll down next to her chest.

"What?!" Weiss cried from the other room.

"Can you confirm that this isn't a prank call?!" Blake asked.

"You want your pregnant wife to come in there to confirm you aren't lying?!" Weiss screamed.

"You can either accept the special treatment or you can say you don't need it, but you can't have it both ways!" Yang snapped.

"Yang!" Blake hissed as she opened the door. "Don't scream so close to the babies."

"They're no more than five cells big at this point," Weiss said.

"See?! You can't have it both ways!" Yang snapped.

"I'm pregnant! I can have it both ways because I'm _also_ having your baby!" Weiss hissed.

Blake shoved the scroll into her wife's hands. Weiss grabbed it.

"Hi, yes, my name is Weiss Belladonna-Schnee, can you _please_ stop pestering my wife and set up the appointment? She had enough trouble making the call in the first place."

Blake glared at her for a moment before stopping herself, remembering that her wife was pregnant.

"Thank you, Angel," she said, gently placing a kiss on her wife's forehead before turning to the scroll. "So about the appointment-"

"It's set up. How about February seventh?"

"Uh, actually, we were hoping for a bit earlier-"

"January thirty-first alright?"

"Yes! Thank you!" Blake said quickly.

"Congratulations!" the woman said.

Blake was about to thank her, but the line went dead.

"Uh... did I do something wrong?" Blake asked, glancing at her wives.

There was a beat of silence before Yang put her hand on the faunus' shoulder.

"Blake, you're _very_ good at a lot of things," Yang started, "but how about you let me make the doctors appointments?"

Blake let out a sigh, leaning against Yang and letting her head burrow against her wife's shoulder.

"I just wanted to help," she whined.

Yang reached her hand up and started to run it through Blake's hair.

"Seriously. You need to calm down about this whole baby thing. Everything's going to be _fine_ ," Yang said.

Blake grumbled against her shoulder so quietly that none of them could hear her.

"What?"

"I just wanted to prove that I could make a doctor's appointment!" Blake whined louder.

"Wait, wait, wait. Is this not about nerves for the baby? Just about _doctors appointments_?!" Yang asked.

Blake hesitated.

"It was... a mix of things..."

Weiss rolled her eyes while Yang snickered.

Blake let out a huff, leaning further into Yang's embrace and wrapping her arms around the blond's waist.

"Seriously though, don't worry about the babies," Yang whispered.

Blake nodded, but she was thinking the **exact** opposite.

_Yeah, yeah. Just don't worry, Blake. Like I'm capable of **doing** that, especially with something so important..._

Blake glanced at her Yang, smiling gently at her and leaning closer.

_But at least I have them at my side._


	5. Adjustments

Weiss grabbed a coffee, and Blake threw herself across the counter, knocking the cup out of her hand.

"Blake, what the heck?!" Weiss cried, glaring at her.

Yang grabbed the broken mug with her metallic hand and threw it away, muttering that this was the second one this week.

"You're pregnant, Weiss!" Blake snapped. "You can't have _caffeine_!"

Weiss stared up at her blankly for a moment before turning to face Yang.

"Yang," the blond looked up, "why did you let me get pregnant if you knew this?"

"I thought you knew that!" Yang defended.

"Would I have agreed to be pregnant if I knew this?!" Weiss cried.

A beat of silence.

"Okay, yes, I would, but _I should have known this first_!"

-

Ruby reached over to grab a cookie, and Yang grabbed her around the waist, picking her up and pulling her away from the counter.

"Yang?! Let go!" Ruby cried.

Blake grabbed the cookies and threw them away, Ruby shrieking at the action at the top of her lungs.

"Blakey?! How could you _do this to me_?!" she screamed.

"You're pregnant! You need to eat better!" Blake cried. "Now take one of these!"

Blake set a vitamin down on the table in front of her.

Ruby stared at it with abject horror.

Blake pushed the vitamin and the water toward her.

"No!" Ruby cried, scrambling to crawl out of Yang's arms.

"Just think about the baby, Rubes!" Yang cried.

Blake hurried pulled a picture out of her pocket, shoving a stock photo of a baby in Ruby's face.

"That one looks nothing like ours would!" Ruby cried, squirming more.

Blake huffed and pulled another stock photo out of her jacket pocket. This one had the picture of a baby cat faunus, which Ruby stared at intensely.

"It's so cute," she breathed.

"And its mother was a responsible baby carrier who took care of themselves, had vitamins, and didn't eat too many desserts," Blake replied.

Ruby's eyes darted to the trash, staring at the cookies longingly.

"Do you want some oranges?" Blake asked. "I could peel them for you!"

Ruby shook her head.

"Do you want a _baby_?" Yang asked.

Ruby moped, crossing her arms.

"I want a baby..."

"Then eat the oranges and take the vitamin so you can have a healthy baby," Blake replied, shoving it toward her.

Blake then sat down, grabbing an orange and starting to peel it.

Ruby watched her, glaring daggers as she angrily ate the first orange piece.

Blake smiled back at her while Yang silently laughed behind her sister.

-

Weiss let out a groan as she rolled out of bed, stretching for a moment before she reached toward her shoes.

Her fingers hit air, and her eyes shot open.

"BLAKE! YANG!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Yes, my beautiful angel?" Blake called from the hotel kitchen.

"WHERE ARE MY HEELS?!"

Blake silently played a game of rock paper scissors with Yang, letting out a quiet cheer as she won.

"Dust," Yang cursed as Weiss stalked out of their bedroom, eyes blazing with anger.

"Where are they?!"

"Blake and I thought... it would be best for you to start... adjusting to pregnant life by... not wearing heels anymore," Yang said.

Weiss stared at her, glaring darkly. Blake quietly slipped out of the room.

"Where. Are. They."

"Somewhere you'll never find them!" Yang said dramatically. Meanwhile, Blake threw a pair of heels out of the window in the other room, causing Ruby to snicker quietly.

Blake shushed her, racing over and throwing herself on the couch beside Ruby. "Don't say a word," she hissed.

Ruby locked her lips, winking at Blake as she leaned against her side.

"Why can't I wear heels?!" Weiss cried.

"You aren't supposed to wear heels when your pregnant because," Yang's tone grew almost monotone as she started to recite words verbatim, "as your belly grows, your center of gravity will change, so you may find yourself a little unsteady on your feet."

Weiss stared at her, and Yang met her gaze.

"If I weren't carrying your child," Yang grinned at the words, "then I would think I hated you. As it is, I might strangle you in your sleep."

Yang hesitated for a moment, glancing behind her in an attempt to find Blake, but found that she was no longer in the room.

"I love you, Angel!"

Weiss stared at her.

"You're getting me shoes."

"Yeah! Yeah, of course! Anything for you!" Yang said quickly.

Weiss took a deep breath in, letting her eyes fall shut with a small growl.

Yang laughed awkwardly, reaching forward to pull Weiss in for a hug.

"Don't touch me," she growled. "I can't function without my coffee!"

"Oh! Well, I was looking up ways to deal with that," Blake said, dashing into the room, "and I've got a small list!"

Weiss stared at Blake, who hesitated at the small glare on her wife's face.

"Uh, well! I heard peppermint is a good pick me up!" Blake produced a small peppermint candy from her pocket, which she put in Weiss' hand. "And... head massages!"

Blake dashed until she was behind Weiss and reached her hands up to rub Weiss' forehead.

Weiss looked up at her with a blank expression on her face.

Blake gave her a slightly awkward smile, letting out a chuckle.

"Is this... helping?"

Weiss let out a groan.

"I guess," she said, waving a hand dismissively. She guessed it was worth it considering Blake's happy grin.

"Yang! Orange juice!" Blake hissed, causing the blond to go racing toward the kitchen, almost tripping over a table.

Weiss let out a quiet sigh.

"Orange juice? Really?" the former heiress asked.

"Do you not want orange juice? We have _a lot_ of oranges now, because they're very good for you! Lots of nutrients!" Blake said. "It can be freshly squeezed now!"

Ruby ambled into the room, yawning.

"How many of those damn oranges did you buy?" Ruby asked.

There was a beat of silence.

"I'm not sure that you're going to like the answer," Blake replied.

Ruby groaned, shaking her head in frustration.

Blake continued to rub at Weiss' forehead, but it didn't seem to be working, considering the former heiress was still scowling.

Ruby gave her a consoling look as she walked forward. Definitely going to be a long pregnancy.


	6. The Tests

Blake paced back and forth anxiously, letting out a sigh as she ran a hand through her hair.

"Okay. Okay! What's taking so long?!" the faunus asked.

"Blake, they're peeing on a stick, give them a second!" Yang cried. "They haven't even been in there for a whole minute!"

Blake let out a sigh, shaking her head.

"Right. Right, sorry," Blake said.

"Calm down, Kit-Kat. We already know that they're pregnant!" Yang cried.

"But we can't be sure until..."

Blake fell against Yang's side with a groan.

"I love you," Blake whispered.

Yang smiled at her.

"I love you, too. But seriously, you don't have to worry."

"You know what? I was the most hesitant to do this! I was scared, overwhelmed, horrified... but now if they aren't pregnant I think I'm going to cry. Or scream. Or both," Blake said, wrapping her arms around her wife's waist tightly and letting out a long sigh.

"They're pregnant," Yang comforted awkwardly, running her hand up and down her wife's back. "So don't worry about it. Please don't cry."

Blake sniffed.

"Yeah, too late."

Yang snickered and was about to respond when the door to the bathroom was thrown open.

_/_

_Blake groaned, running her hand through her hair slowly._

_"I don't know, Yang. I don't think I'm ready."_

_"You're ready. Just calm down."_

_Blake nodded, reaching her hand out to grab two pregnancy tests, looking at the front of it._

_"Okay, so, according to a few different scientific websites, and not to mention blogs, this is the best pregnancy test available here."_

_"Blake, how much research have you done for this very specific topic?" Yang asked._

_"I know more about pregnancy tests than anyone could ever need to," Blake replied, shaking her head._

_Yang la_ _ughed, snatching the pregnancy tests out of her wife's hands and racing toward the cashier._

_"Yang!" Blake hissed, chasing after her.  
_

_Yang slammed the tests down on the counter with a grin._

_"Hello, good sir! We would like to buy two pregnancy tests!"_

_The cashier blinked at them._

_"Wouldn't one test work just fine?" he asked._

_Blake slammed two more down on the counter, causing Yang to stare at her with a raised eyebrow._

_"Uh, why do we need four?"_

_"To be sure about both of them!" Blake hissed._

_"No, one test would not work well enough," Yang said. "We need," she paused to laugh, "four pregnancy tests."_

_Blake slid her hand into her wife's own, threading their fingers together._

_"Dust yeah we do."_

_/_

Ruby burst out of the room with a triumphant grin, holding a pregnancy test in the air.

"We have a winner!" 

Blake darted forward and grabbed the test.

"That has my sister's pee on it," Yang said, but she hurried forward to look at it too.

"Yeah, yeah, I've seen her drop a cookie out of her mouth onto the floor and then eat it," Blake said distractedly. Her eyes widened as she looked down at the test.

"Positive," she breathed. Blake fished into her pocket and pulled another test out, slamming it into Ruby's palm. "Try it again!"

Ruby stared at her, wide eyed.

"You had another one?! What the-Blake, I just peed!" Ruby hissed.

Blake didn't seem to care, because she threw her arms around Ruby's waist and pulled her into the air.

"You're pregnant! You're having our _baby_! We just need to be sure!"

Ruby stared at her with a sort of confusion, reaching a hand up to wipe at Blake's eyes, which were filled with tears.

"I just... I'm just so happy, and... I need to make sure that this is all real," Blake whispered.

Ruby laughed, realizing that tears were in her eyes too.

"Yeah. I know, I know... I love you," Ruby said. She leaned down to kiss the faunus. When they pulled back, she spoke again. "But you really need to calm down."

Blake laughed quietly, setting her down gently.

A moment later, the door opened again, and Weiss stared up at her wives with wide eyes.

"Well?!" Yang prompted.

Weiss held up the pregnancy test, grinning.

Yang raced forward and threw her arms around her, hugging her tightly.

"Oh my dust! We're gonna be moms!" she cried, pulling her closer.

Blake and Ruby hurried over, the latter giving the faunus a short look. Blake smiled guiltily as she pulled a fourth pregnancy test out of her pocket, passing it to Weiss.

"Dust, Blakey! How many of those did you buy?!" Ruby cried.

"Four, Rubes. She bought four of those pregnancy tests," Yang replied.

Weiss groaned, shaking her head with a small laugh.

"You really need to tone it down, Kit-Kat," the former heiress said.

Blake rolled her eyes, tears falling from them again.

"You're the ones that convinced me to do this. I might as well," she laughed wetly, yang wiping at her face, "might as well make sure we do it right."

"Yeah, can't leave us alone with _children_ , right, Blakey?" Ruby asked, burrowing her face against Weiss' neck.

"Of course not, Rubes! If Blake wasn't here, we wouldn't have four pregnancy tests!" Yang cried.

"And I'd still be allowed to wear heels and drink coffee," Weiss muttered, making Ruby smack her on the arm.

"No, I would have had to put my foot down on that," Yang said, chuckling.

Blake took a shaky breath, pulling her wives closer to her.

That didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was that they were all here together... and they were having **babies**!


	7. Symptoms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've been doing research and crap for this, as I'm sure I complained about earlier, and we're assuming, for the sake of the story, that the moment the dust was used that the baby's first cell was just PLOPPED into existence so... that's why it's kinda happening quicker than normal, if anyone actually was thinking that.

Weiss woke up early for the first time since they'd used the dust just about two weeks ago. Blake was curled up beside her, spooning the former heiress gently and covering her almost entirely with her own body, as if she was scared that something might happen to her wife and their unborn child while the slept. Weiss had all but thrown Blake's arm off of her waist, racing to the bathroom and slamming the door shut behind her.

The loud noise stirred Ruby and Yang awake, almost causing Blake to fall out of bed in shock.

"What's going on?" Ruby slurred tiredly, reaching for Crescent Rose, which she kept at the side of their bed. "Are there Grimm?"

There was the loud sound of vomiting from the bathroom, and Blake put a hand on Ruby's shoulder to calm her.

"No. Weiss is just having morning sickness," Blake said, yawning slightly and shaking her head in an attempt to clear her mind.

"I can't believe I volunteered for this!" Weiss called from the other room. "Yang, why didn't I let you do this?!"

"That's what I asked!" Yang called back.

"Hey! Don't take that tone with me! I'm carrying your _child_ , Yang!" Weiss snapped.

Blake gave the blond a consoling smile, falling back against the bed.

"Sugar, how about you just try to get some rest? You need some," Blake offered, holding her arms open for Ruby to curl up in.

Ruby frowned, crawling out of the bed and starting to shift from foot to foot almost anxiously.

"No, I'm alright! Just really need to use the restroom," Ruby said.

"Are you gonna throw up?!" Yang asked, eyes suddenly going wide.

"No, I just really need to pee," Ruby said with a sigh.

"That's another common symptom!" Blake said quickly, scrambling out of the bed and almost falling on her face in her haste.

"Hey, how about we go use the bathroom in the lobby?" Blake asked, putting a hand on Ruby's waist.

"Blakey, we're in our pajamas. I can wait for Weiss."

There was more vomiting from the bathroom, which caused all three of Weiss' wives to visibly flinch.

"You know what? Lobby. Lobby sounds good," Ruby said.

"Don't leave me here alone," Yang hissed.

Blake grabbed Ruby gently around the waist and leading her out of the bedroom.

Yang watched them go with wide, desperate eyes.

A few minutes later, the door to the bathroom opened to reveal a very irate and very disgruntled Weiss, who trudged back over to the bed and promptly fell against it.

"Does it make me a bad mom if I kinda hate them for doing this to me?" Weiss asked.

"No way!" Yang cried, leaning over to lay a hand on Weiss' knee. "It doesn't make you a bad wife if you sometimes hate me for my horrible puns, right?" Weiss nodded far too quickly for Yang's liking. "Then of course this doesn't make you a bad mom!"

Yang leaned over to set her head against Weiss', but the former heiress pulled away, heading back to the bathroom.

"I blame you for this," Weiss said as she shut the door.

"What?! Just me?! What about Blake and Ruby?!" Yang called.

"Any child that annoys me this much has to be yours!" Weiss cried, making Yang laugh... until she heard her wife throwing up again, which made her wince.

-

"Blakey, I'm really fine to go on my own," Ruby said, rolling her eyes as Blake shepherded her to the elevator.

"You're two weeks pregnant, Sugar. You're making a _life_ inside of you! The least I can do is try to make it as easy as possible on you while you do," Blake replied.

Ruby giggled quietly, leaning back into Blake's arms.

"How come you can be so romantic when we're both in our pajamas walking through a hotel hallway with me two weeks pregnant and our wife throwing up in the bathroom?" Ruby asked.

Blake laughed, leaning down to kiss the top of Ruby's head.

"That's my super power, Sugar."

"I thought you already had a semblance."

"Yeah, but this is the one that _really_ matters," Blake whispered as the elevator door slid open.

Ruby laughed quietly as she led her wife out of the elevator.

"I think you're just doing this to make me less mad at you for your baby pushing on my bladder."

"Actually, right now the reason you need to urinate more frequently is because your body is trying to flush out any excess toxins in your blood, which means that blood has to be filtered through the kidney mo-"

"Blake, how about you stick to the science of this and you let me be the one that describes how it feels?" Ruby asked.

Blake laughed, shaking her head.

"Right! Right, sorry!"

Ruby rolled her eyes as she pushed the bathroom door open, hurrying inside.

-

Yang looked over the set up quickly, wracking her brain to see if she'd forgotten anything. Blake had told her what pregnant women's _bodies_ needed... but the faunus didn't seem to know what the women _themselves_ needed.

The bathroom door opened, and Yang raced forward, grabbing Weiss' hand in her own.

Weiss stared up at her with an expression of slight disgust. Yang let it roll off of her.

"Are you gonna throw up again?" Yang asked.

"Probably."

"Soon?"

"Don't think I have anything to throw up," Weiss muttered.

Yang chuckled awkwardly, leading her wife to the kitchen.

"Good, because I made breakfast!"

"This... this is cookies in a bowl," Weiss said.

"That's for Rubes," Yang said, waving her hand dismissively. "For _you_ , Angel, I got some peppermint," Weiss groaned, "and some waffles!"

"You can't make those."

"Yes, but I didn't have to! They're previously frozen waffles," Yang said, sliding a plate in front of her.

"Would Blake approve?" Weiss asked skeptically, but she was staring at the food with what Yang could _only_ describe as lust. It was almost scary.

"Absolutely not, but it really won't do any harm... but you still have to take this."

Yang set down a large vitamin on the table in front of Weiss, making her groan.

"That's almost as big as my face," she said.

"And it's probably twice as large as our entire baby, but that's not important right now, is it?" Yang asked, pushing water at her. "Now make sure you don't throw this up, or Blake will make you take another. And I'm pretty sure she counts these pills, so she'll know if you skip it."

Weiss sighed, shaking her head.

"Alright. Alright! Fine! But know that this has nothing to do with my own well-being. This whole endeavor is running on my love for you three idiots and whatever's in my stomach," Weiss muttered, taking a large drink of water and putting the vitamin in her mouth.

Yang laughed, taking a seat next to Weiss.

"Want me to rub your head or whatever Blake was doing yesterday?"

"No offense to Blake, but I need you to tell her that if she _ever_ does that again, I'm beating her hand off."

"You got it," Yang said, bringing her metallic hand back to her chest. "I already lost this one once, don't want to make a habit out of it."

Weiss side eyed her as she started to eat, rolling her eyes.

"That's not funny, you know."

"I don't know, I thought it was pretty good," Yang replied, grinning.

Weiss groaned, grabbing her stomach gently with one hand.

"I can't believe I agreed to have your baby," she said.

"I still can't believe you agreed to marry me!" Yang replied, making Weiss swat her arm.

"Yang, I love you, and you know it, now stop trying to be funny. Maybe it's the hormones, maybe it's the fact that I just threw up about ten times, but it doesn't matter. I'm not in the mood."

Yang laughed, leaning against her side with a grin.

"I for one think it's the vitamin's fault."

Weiss groaned sufferingly.

-

Blake let out a quiet sigh as a figure started to walk toward her. They were wearing the regular costume for the hotel workers, and she recognized them slightly. That started to happen when you'd spent about two weeks in the same hotel.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but you can't block the door to the lady's room."

"Uh, I'm really sorry, but my pregnant wife may or may not be throwing up in there and...," Bake let out a long breath, running a hand through her hair. "I really don't know what else to do. I'll go check on her and-"

"Ma'am, she really should be up in your room if she's having morning sickness," the worker said.

"Right! Yes! I know, but... my other wife is up there throwing up right now, and there's only one bathroom, and she's pregnant too, and I'm really sorry, but we need this bathroom for a little bit longer."

The worker stared at her for a long time.

"Is your friend in there getting high?"

"What?! No, no, no! I swear! Look, here's my wedding ring! My wife's in there and-"

"Ma'am, it's clear that you're lying, and I'm just insulted that you think I'm stupid enough to fall for this."

Blake grimaced.

"Why does everyone keep thinking that?! I swear I'm telling the truth!"

Blake stuck her head in the bathroom.

"Sugar?! Are you okay in there?!" she called almost desperately.

"I'm fine, Blakey! Just need another minute! Is something wrong? Do I need to hurry up?"

Blake shook her head quickly before realizing that her wife couldn't see her.

"Nope! Definitely not! Take all the time you want, Sugar! You're doing great!"

"I'm sure I'm doing a great job throwing up, Blake. Maybe not as goo as Weiss, though."

Blake laughed quietly, shaking her head before turning back to the hotel worker.

"We'll just be another minute."

"Ma'am, I'm sorry to ask, but how much longer do you plan to be staying with us?"

Blake rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly.

"Uh, actually, we're planning on moving out today, if everything goes well! We're going to close on a house this afternoon, but Weiss and Ruby, the, uh, the pregnant ones, will probably be staying here while Yang and I go to finalize it. We'll probably be gone today or tomorrow."

The worker looked Blake up and down.

"Good."

Blake laughed awkwardly as the worker walked away, glancing behind her.

A moment later, Ruby pushed open the bathroom door, and Blake grabbed her by the hand, pulling her toward the elevator.

"How are you feeling, Sugar?" Blake asked, looking over her shoulder and wondering if maybe security would come for them.

"Uh, as well as you would expect, I guess," Ruby said. "I'm excited though! Can't wait to move into our new home! And I think I might be starting to show!"

Blake hesitated, glancing at Ruby's stomach.

"Uh, Sugar, I don't know if that's possible yet," she hurriedly pressed the close door button on the elevator, "considering the earliest most women start to show is week sixteen to eighteen and even with us kind of skipping the first two slow weeks of fertilization that seems early-"

Ruby grabbed her hand and put it against her stomach.

Blake humored her, letting her hand be guided around for a moment before her eyes widened.

"Uh," Blake laughed nervously, running her hand back and forth more curiously now, "yeah, maybe you are starting to show some signs already..."

"Is that bad?" Ruby asked worriedly.

Blake shook her head quickly.

"What?! No! Of course not! Don't worry, Sugar! I'm sure it's probably just... a side effect of the dust. Maybe it speeds the beginning up more than I thought... doesn't matter, we have a doctor's appointment in four weeks, and everything will be just fine, I promise."

"Four weeks?! But what if something's wrong?!" Ruby cried.

"Hey, hey, Sugar, calm down, I'm certain that nothing's wrong. Just breathe. Six weeks into the pregnancy is almost early to go for a prenatal appointment, even with the dust! You're going to be wife, the baby's going to be fine."

Ruby didn't look so sure, so Blake scoured her brain to think of more ways to comfort her.

"And hey, I think we'll be ready for an ultrasound then! Isn't that exciting?!" Blake asked, shaking her wife just slightly back and forth to simulate the way Ruby usually bounced up and down in excitement (but in a way much safer for the baby).

Ruby instantly cheered up, grinning up at Blake.

"Really?! We'll get to see the babies?!"

Blake nodded with a grin, making Ruby clap her hands in excitement while she quietly cheered.

"Now how about we get you to the room, and then Yang and I can go close the deal on the house. Maybe we can call Sun over to come hang out with you two, make sure you're alright-"

"Actually, I already called someone!" Ruby said happily.

Blake hesitated.

"Who?"


	8. Negotiations

Blake slid her hand into Yang's own, leaning against her side and letting out a sigh.

"Are you sure this was a good idea?"

"By now you should know that I _always_ think my ideas are great, and they either are or aren't," Yang said.

"But this wasn't your idea. It was _Ruby's_ , and she's a bit of a wild card," Blake replied, voice raising as the airship started to land nearby.

"That's fair," Yang said. "But hopefully they won't all be dead by the time we get back."

Blake grew silent at the words, glancing behind her.

"You don't think he'll try to give them alcohol, right?" Blake asked nervously.

"Kit-Kat, I kinda take offense at that. He's been clear ever since... anyways, of course he won't try to give them alcohol! They're pregnant! He's a good guy, you know that!"

"Yeah, I do, it's just..."

"You're unnecessarily nervous and now think that my uncle is going to force feed the future mothers of our children alcohol while his girlfriend punches them repeatedly in the stomach," Yang said.

Blake rolled her eyes.

"I wouldn't say it _that_ way! I mean, I know they wouldn't, but-"

The hanger door opened, and Blake cut herself off, forcing a smile as Taiyang, Kali, and Ghira stepped outside.

"Oh, I just have to see them before we go!" Kali said instead of a greeting.

Blake reached forward to grab her mother before she could run off into the hotel.

"Hello to you too, mom! And you _can't_ see them, because they're very tired and you need to go take us to a house," Blake said.

"I don't really see why we need _this_ chump coming along. After all, he isn't really doing much but taking up space," Yang said, gesturing at her father with a grin. "Not to mention he's not even going to live there! Why don't we just cut out the middle man?"

Taiyang scoffed, holding a hand up to his chest in fake indignation.

"Middle man?! Well _this_ middle man is about to help you go haggle for your future house and maybe get some of the price knocked down. How does _that_ sound?" he asked.

Yang scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Like chump change. Now come on, we need to get going. Blake must have pissed off the hotel workers or something because we need to move out by tonight."

"It's not my fault!" Blake defended as she shepherded her mother to the airship hanger door. "Ruby needed to use the bathroom, but Weiss was already throwing up! So I had to make sure that she wasn't interrupted and-"

"And insult the hotel worker? Smooth, Blake, real smooth. Great example you're setting for our kids," Yang said, cutting her off.

"What?! I didn't insult anyone!" Blake cried.

"I don't know, insulting people _does_ kind of sound like you, Blake," Kali said, smirking.

Blake rolled her eyes, throwing her hands up in frustration.

"I just said we needed another minute because my _pregnant wife was throwing up in the bathroom_! Is that too much to ask, for dust's sake?!" Blake hissed, glaring at Yang.

"Oh, definitely. You asked far too much."

Blake rolled her eyes sufferingly.

-

Weiss grinned as Elm put a hand against her stomach with surprising gentleness that could almost be called out of character for the tall woman.

"Oh my dust! You already feel like you're showing! And so _early_ too!" she said happily, moving the hand a bit.

"Is it really that early?" Ruby asked worriedly beside Qrow, leaning against her uncle's side with a slightly nervous expression.

"Who knows with that new dust," Qrow said. "Maybe it's normal. Though I doubt it, considering you've never been anything _close_ to normal."

Ruby slapped at his hands as he ruffled her hair.

"You might want to be careful about messing with Ruby around Blake. She's kind of going crazy," Weiss said.

"You think?" Elm asked, reaching over to grab a folder that Blake had left with them. She flipped through the papers. "The first words are 'make sure they get vitamins at exactly two thirty in the afternoon.' And then it goes on to talk about naps, morning sickness, nausea, and weirdly there's a lot in here about oranges."

"I think Blake really should have married those damn oranges," Weiss grumbled as she glared vehemently at a pile on the counter.

"Speaking of, want me to peel some?" Elm asked.

Weiss gave her a flat look.

"Do I _look_ like I want you to peel me some?!"

"I mean... you kind of look pregnant, so... yes?" Elm asked.

Weiss sighed, resting one hand on her stomach contemplatively.

"Yeah. Okay. Get us both some oranges. And hide the cookies. Ruby's looking at them like they're Blake in a swim suit."

Ruby pouted as Qrow laughed loudly at the words.

"She looks at Blake," he paused to wheeze, "like she's a pile of cookies?!"

"And me," Weiss added, smirking as Elm pounded her fist against the counter in amusement.

"Taiyang always said it was so cute and innocent how she looked at those cookies," Qrow almost fell out of his chair laughing, "and she looks at her wives like that!"

Weiss joined in on the laughter while Ruby awkwardly tried to deny it.

"I don't look at them like cookies!" she whined.

"You kind of do, Sugar," Weiss said, grinning.

Ruby rolled her eyes.

"What day is it? Pick on the pregnant woman day?" Ruby asked.

Qrow and Elm glanced at each other, but Weiss rolled her eyes.

"No, no, no! You can't use that excuse with me! We're _both_ pregnant! No upper hand there!"

"Darn it," Ruby muttered.

Elm shook her head as she laughed, sliding the cookies into a side compartment while Ruby pouted.

"Blake won't even let me use my semblance! Says it might be 'too jostling for the baby!'" Ruby whined.

"Kiddo, she does kind of have a point about that," Qrow said, drawing a glare from Ruby. He held up his hands in defense. "I don't know about oranges and vitamins and that kinda stuff, but you gotta be careful with your aura and semblance. That's a little baby in there, don't hurt it because you want to go just a little bit faster."

Ruby crossed her arms, pouting.

"It's not like I'd _want_ to hurt them!" she defended.

"And please don't refer to our child as an 'it,'" Weiss said, rolling her eyes.

"Until you tell me the gender, it's an it," Qrow said, grinning. Weiss huffed, prompting Elm to smack her boyfriend in the back of the head as she passed, handing oranges to Weiss and Ruby.

"The appointment for the ultrasound is in four weeks!" Ruby said happily, starting to munch on the orange. She made a look of disgust before powering through.

"That's great! Oh, you'll need to show us the picture!" Elm said excitedly, bouncing up and down in a way that was almost strikingly similar to Ruby.

"I'm sure we'll be showing everyone that can stand to see it," Weiss said, smiling fondly at Ruby's excited grin.

"Yes! Yes, we will!"

Weiss could already see it. Ruby was standing up in the front of her classroom, holding up a picture of their babies, both ultrasounds held side by side. "We're gonna be mommies!" she'd cry. Weiss smile widened and she leaned against her wife, letting out a sigh of contentment.

If someone had told her panicking seventeen year old self that she was going to be married and having kids with the three women she'd accidentally fallen in love with way back at Beacon... well, Weiss wouldn't have just laughed at them, she would probably have punched them for being sarcastic.

And even _further_ back, if someone had told her younger self that she would fall in love with a **woman** , let alone three, she probably would have had them sued for trying to discredit her honor.

Life was funny that way sometimes.

-

Blake grinned as they flew toward the house, trying to contain her excitement. This was it! The house they were going to live in! The house they were going to take their children home from the hospital to, the house they were going to watch them grow up in, the house they were probably going to teach them how to fight Grimm in (considering who their mothers were)...

Blake turned to look at Yang, about to speak her mind, but from the small hints of tears in her wife's eyes... the faunus could tell that Yang was thinking the same thing.

Yang tightened her grip on Blake's hand gently, giving her a fond smile.

"This is it," she breathed.

"Hey, keep the water works down! That'll make it harder to make them give us a discount if they see how excited you two are!" Taiyang said.

"You know what? Why don't you two wait in the airship and let us take care of this," Ghira offered, glancing at his wife.

"But what about the purchase? We need to give our information and-"

Taiyang snorted, shaking his head.

"Seriously? You four idiots think you're buying this thing on your own? In case you didn't notice, you have _way_ too many over excitable friends and family that didn't get the chance to give you a wedding gift! Consider this our apology!" Taiyang said.

"Wait... what?!" Blake cried, eyes wide with disbelief.

"I took up a collection for donations from friends and family. Got more than I expected out of some of your weirder friends. Did you know that Neopolitan just has money buried underground in Atlas?"

Blake and Yang laughed quietly through their shock.

"That sounds like her," the blond breathed.

"And don't get me started on the Schnee siblings. Scheeblings? Can I call them that? Anyways, they both gave _way_ more than you needed, which is why we're getting you that dream house of yours. Five bedrooms enough for you? Hope you aren't planning on having _too_ many kids!"

Blake and Yang sat in shocked silence, too stunned to speak as their parents disembarked.

"Wish us luck!"


	9. The House

"This... is not the house we'd talked about," Blake said slowly to Weiss, making the former heiress eye her with a narrowed expression. Blake hurried to continue. "But it's great! Better! Definitely the one that we would have wanted, but money was tight with kids on the way, and... well, that's not important! What matters is that we've got a house that is... shockingly paid off! So we don't have to worry about the mortgage and stuff! Just making sure we can take care of the two little troublemakers you two are carrying!"

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure this one's a troublemaker. I mean, they _are_ related to Yang."

Yang snickered, Qrow letting out loud laughter as he helped Ruby to her feet.

"Wait, are we moving in today?" Weiss asked, frowning.

"Yeah! We bought it, and apparently Blake scared a worker here and now we have to leave," Yang said.

Blake flushed.

"No I didn't!" she denied, shaking her head.

Ruby laughed quietly, leaning against her wife with a small smile.

"It's alright. I thought that was very sweet of you. Threatening someone for your pregnant wife is nice."

Blake rolled her eyes.

"I didn't threaten them! I was _very_ nice about this whole thing! It's not my fault that I happen to also be a very awkward person to talk to."

"That's alright. Just help me grab our stuff," Yang said, tossing a bag at Blake.

The cat faunus immediately push Ruby behind her as if afraid that the bag would somehow hit Ruby in the stomach and hurt their child.

Weiss and Ruby both rolled their eyes while Yang snickered.

"Wait, wait, wait, how are we moving in tonight?! Do we even have furniture?" Weiss asked, frowning.

"Well, we've got a bed from Beacon that Glynda gave us," Yang said, shrugging, "and we have the first bills paid, so we'll have running water for you to throw up in."

Weiss glared at her, huffing as she crossed her arms.

"And we can totally buy more furniture next week or whatever! Blake and I can move furniture, right?"

Blake scoffed, grabbing the last of their very few bags. They hadn't acquired many items since they had been on their adventures, as they were used to moving around quite frequently and didn't want to make their travels more difficult by adding a bunch of _stuff_ to it. But now they were actually moving into a house they were going to _own_ , which made it possible that they could actually accumulate some objects instead of just having each other. The idea was foreign now, yes, but certainly not unwelcome.

"Of course we can move furniture," Blake said, rolling her eyes.

"You know it doesn't _just_ have to be you two, right?" Weiss asked.

"Oh, yes, please, we'd _love_ for it to be **six** Belladonna-Schnees moving a piece of furniture. Blake, Rubes, you, me, and our two unborn children that should be getting vitamins and oranges," Yang said with a snicker.

Weiss stared at her with a small glare.

"I see what you mean," Weiss said with an eye roll.

"Finally seeing some sense," Blake muttered to herself, silently glad that her wives weren't faunus and, therefore, didn't hear what she'd said.

Weiss might not have heard the words, but she gave her wife a small stare, almost as if she'd known basically what Blake had said.

The faunus gave her a small smile.

Ruby reached down to grab a bag, but Yang stuck her hand out, grabbing it before her sister could do so.

"Hey! Take it easy, Rubes!"

"Yang, that's barely the size of a purse!"

"And our baby is smaller than a peanut but it's still controlling your life. What's your point?" Yang asked.

"It's controlling _all_ our lives," Blake replied.

Weiss reached over to take a bag out of Blake's hand, but instead shifted all of the bags into her left arm, grabbing her wife's hand in her own.

Weiss stared at her for a long moment.

"I love you," Weiss said, but she huffed at the at action, letting herself be pulled forward out of the room.

"Looks like you were right about that wife of yours," Qrow muttered to Ruby, grinning.

"Yeah, I know. She might be going a little crazy."

"I guess love could do that to you," Qrow said.

Elm laughed as slid her hand into his, intertwining their fingers with one another, grinning.

"I love you too," she whispered, leaning down to kiss him on the top of his head.

Qrow smiled with a small, fond expression.

Ruby watched the two of them with a grin, elbowing her uncle in the ribs.

"Looks like you two are doing well," she said.

He chuckled quietly, shaking his head.

"Yeah. Surprisingly after... everything... we still are."

Elm smiled at the words, but there was a small hurt to her eyes.

"Yeah," she breathed.

-

Blake helped Weiss off the airship with a sort of worry in her eyes, making Weiss huff and cross her arms.

"You know I can take care of myself, I'm not really that pregnant yet."

Blake stared at her intently, and Weiss let out a groan.

"Just enjoy the house, Angel."

Weiss rolled her eyes, but turned her gaze to their new home.

Her breath caught in her chest, eyes wide.

"Is this..."

"It's real alright, Angel! Now come on inside!" Yang said, rushing forward.

Ruby almost activated her semblance, but a side eye from Blake caused her to hesitate.

"Do we really need a house this big?" Weiss asked.

"We're having two children with _those two_ ," Blake gestured at Yang and Ruby, who were rushing toward the house at full speed, both almost falling on their face at least twice in the process.

Blake grabbed Weiss by the hand and pulled her inside, grinning as she saw the familiar figures around them.

"Happy house warming!" Penny cried with a wide smile. The rest of their friends echoed her, laughing as they hurried forward to hug the Belladonna-Schnees.

Blake slid in front of Ruby to stop Penny from tackling her.

"Be careful with her, she's pregnant, Penny," Winter whispered, smiling gently at her girlfriend.

"Right! Sorry, Friend Ruby!" she cried, gently pulling Ruby in for a hug. "May I touch your stomach?"

Ruby nodded hesitantly, and Penny gently put a metallic hand against her stomach.

Penny grinned.

"I can almost hear the heartbeat!" she said happily, setting her head against Ruby's shoulder.

"I hate to be rude, but what are you guys doing her?" Blake asked.

"Helping you move into the house we helped you buy, Blake!" Sun cried, throwing his arm around Blake's shoulders with a wide grin.

"Well then, let's show you around!" Yang cried before pulling him out of the entryway.

As Ruby and Weiss stepped through, their eyes widened in disbelief.

The entryway hall wasn't large, especially compared to what Weiss had grown up with, but it was amazing nonetheless.

The first room they entered afterwards was the living room and dining room, which were mixed together into one giant room, where they found-

"Who gave us a table?!" Yang cried in shock.

"Ren's actually really good at carpentry," Nora said dismissively.

Ren gave the four a small smile, nodding his head.

"That's amazing!" Ruby cried, racing forward to give him a hug.

"And these are the actual chairs that we had at your wedding," Nora said happily.

"Awesome!" Yang cried, tilting one to the side. "Still can't believe you made these with your hammer."

"Oh no, she definitely didn't," Jaune said. "She cut them down and then Ren carved them into chairs."

Yang snorted, shaking her head.

"I thought he was making food."

"I was doing both," Ren said with a small smile.

"How is he just weirdly good at everything?" Ruby whispered, making Weiss shrug in confusion.

"I really don't know," the former heiress replied at the same volume.

Weiss found herself distracted as she looked around the room, eyes wide as she looked at the windows. They were at the side of the room, looking out into the countryside. Weiss hadn't really considered this before, but they were pretty withdrawn from people and there were no other houses in view. The sunset would be beautiful...

Weiss leaned against Ruby's side, a small smile growing across her face.

"This really is a beautiful place to raise a family," she said.

"Yeah," Yang said, throwing an arm around her wife's shoulders.

Blake looked super excited at the house, grabbing Yang by the hand and pulling all three of her wives out of the room.

"Look, you should see the back porch!" she said, throwing the door open. The view was beautiful, and Weiss could see almost a mile into the distance.

There wasn't any backyard fence, but Weiss supposed that wouldn't be a problem, considering they didn't have any pets that would run away... but they might want to get something to stop children from running out of view when they were older. After all, they'd both be related to either Yang or Ruby directly, which probably wasn't great for their chances of keeping the two kids inside and not rambunctious.

Blake then pulled them back inside.

"You should see the master bedroom!" she said.

They dashed past the kitchen, which Weiss thought had _beautiful_ granite counters, and into the bedroom.

It was a large room, more so than Weiss had been expecting, and probably bigger than almost their entire hotel room they'd been living in for the past two weeks, and there were more than a few windows to the side, beside a nice chair, turned toward the windows themselves. But at the end of the room was a large bed, which was very familiar, considering they'd been sleeping in it for the last semester teaching at Beacon.

"Aw, you guys brought it here already?" Blake asked, turning to face their friends. "Thank you so much!" she said, running a hand over it with a sort of reverence, like it was the catalyst that was about to allow them to start their new life together finally.

"Course we did! Wanted to make everything easier for you four!" Sun said, wagging his tail.

"And you should see the nursery!" Penny added.

"We haven't set up the...," Yang trailed off before she started to drag the other three into a nearby room, which she threw open.

It was probably supposed to be a bedroom, considering there was a closet, but it was smaller than the other bedrooms, most of which were upstairs, and there were two small cribs set up on opposite sides of the room.

"It's beautiful," Blake breathed, looking at the paint on the sides, portraying a few different animals with clouds above them, the animals smiling gently.

"Who painted this?" Weiss asked, running a hand across the wall.

"Neo, actually," Ciel said as she put her head against her wife's shoulder.

"I didn't know you could paint," Yang said.

Neo shrugged, tilting her head to the side slightly so that she could put it against Ciel's.

_'Eh. Never really mentioned it considering I barely ever had the time to do it on the run.'_

"Hey! It wasn't Ren who had a random talent we've never heard of before this time!" Ruby said excitedly, grinning at Weiss, who laughed, shaking her head.

Weiss snickered and leaned against her, looking around the room.

It finally all felt real. Like they were really doing this. They were starting their own family...

Weiss grabbed Yang's hand in her own, smiling as she leaned against Ruby further.

Blake wrapped an arm around Yang's waist and her hand landed on Weiss' side.

"Wow," Weiss breathed, looking around one more time. She reached a hand up to her stomach and Blake glanced at her.

"Are you feeling alright? Are you nauseous? Hungry? I brought some oranges!"

Weiss held in a sigh.

"Just give me a damn orange."

"Don't curse in front of the baby," Yang said, smirking as Blake hurriedly pulled out an orange, which was weirdly already cold. Yang couldn't figure out how that was possible, but she didn't say anything about it while Blake peeled the fruit. "Do you want one too, Ruby?" she asked.

Ruby shook her head quickly, pulling closer to Weiss as if her wife would be able to protect her from Blake's over protectiveness.

Yang laughed and elbowed Blake.

"Still might be taking it a bit far, Kit-Kat."

"Oh, yes, let me apologize for caring too much for my wives and our children that are still in their stomachs!" Blake hissed and handed a piece of the orange to the former heiress. Weiss wondered for a moment if Blake was handing her one orange slice at a time because she was trying to be nice or if it was because Blake was worried she might somehow be overwhelmed by too many at once.

Despite that, Weiss found it cute, and she smiled at her wife, leaning against her wives and eating an orange slice. As she looked at the nursery, she let her eyes fall shut, letting her happiness wash over her with a wide grin.

They were finally _really_ starting their life together and... she couldn't be happier.


	10. Lazy Morning

Weiss awoke slowly the next morning, looking around the room with new eyes. Blake was cradling Ruby like a small child to her right with Yang held her loosely around the waist, clearly still asleep from the drool that was slowly falling down her cheek. Weiss smiled fondly, rolling her eyes at the familiar sight. Ruby and Yang both did that.

It took her a moment to remember exactly where she was. She was home. But this wasn't just any home. This was the home that she was going to live in with her wives, raise their children in. This was **their** home, nobody else's. Weiss wasn't sure if she'd ever felt that before. When she was younger, it had been her father's home, and she had just lived there. Then it had been Beacon, which had been team RWBY's, but it hadn't been _just_ them, and even that hadn't lasted very long. Then they'd gone on their adventures across all of Remnant, and the closest thing they'd had for a home had been that airship, which Weiss still found disgusting. But then finally after their travels, they had settled back at Taiyang's house, which had been nice and comfortable... but still foreign to Weiss, like she wasn't exactly supposed to be there, even if it was where she had been married to her soulmates. Then they were back at Beacon again, and that had been nice, once more, but...

Now they were finally _here_ , back at their own home. It filled Weiss with a paradoxical sense of the unknown when she looked around... and the feeling that she had always somehow known this was where they'd end up. There had been doubts in her life, especially in the beginning when she had first started to realize her feelings for them, and during their travels... but a part of her always, in the back of her mind, imagined this as their happy ending. Settling down in a house of their own, starting a family...

It was familiar, but also completely new to the former heiress, which filled her with excitement and anxiety.

Maybe Ruby had sensed her thoughts, or more probably woken up on her own accord, but in the end it really didn't matter which one it had been. She rolled over in bed slightly, causing Blake to make a small noise of complaint, holding her tighter around the waist and pulling closer as she slept.

"Hey, Weiss," Ruby whispered as quietly as she could, reaching her hand forward and grabbing Weiss' own.

The former heiress stared up at her with a look of pure adoration.

"Hi, Ruby," she breathed, moving forward just slightly so that Ruby could reach forward and loop her free arm around her stomach, hand coming to rest there as if probing for a baby in her stomach.

Weiss quietly laughed, leaning closer.

"You feeling alright?" Ruby asked. "No case of the puking?"

Weiss scoffed and rolled her eyes, leaning her head forward to set it against Ruby's forehead.

"Not so far, but you might not want to tempt fate."

Ruby giggled, kissing her chastely.

"You like the place?" she asked, glancing around the room with a wide grin.

Weiss chuckled, following her wife's gaze.

"It's... amazing. I just..."

"Can't believe it's real?" Ruby asked. "Me either. It's all just so..."

"Perfect. Like I'm going to wake up any minute and learn that I'm still back in my first year at Beacon dreaming about everything that I always wanted to have with you three."

"Yeah," Ruby breathed. "That's exactly how it feels."

Weiss chuckled and was about to respond when her stomach started to ache. She glared at Ruby as she threw the blankets off.

"I blame you for this," she hissed, gently extracting Yang's arm from around her waist before she threw herself off the bed and hurried to the bathroom.

Ruby made an apologetic face at her wife as she shut the door, prompting Weiss to scoff, giving her a small smile in return before going to take care of her morning sickness.

"Sugar, stop squirming," Blake muttered, pulling Ruby closer to her and letting her head rest on her shoulder gently.

"Sorry, Blakey," Ruby whispered, letting herself fall into her wife's embrace, letting out a calm, content sigh as she let her eyes fall shut again.

Blake had been holding her all night, something that had been arranged by the faunus about four days into pregnancy.

Pregnant women were supposed to lay on their side, so Blake said that Yang and herself had to make sure that Weiss and Ruby didn't roll over in their sleep by holding them in place. But Yang had the tendency to sleep on her back, rolling over in the middle of the night, so Ruby had been holding Weiss most nights as well.

Was it a bit overkill? Maybe. Did that stop them? Absolutely not. Blake was overdoing their precautions for their babies, and that was definitely not going to stop any time soon, so the other three were starting to just get used to it.

Blake let out a quiet sigh of happiness as she settled back next to Ruby, clearly about to slip back asleep. Her arm reached out to set itself on Weiss, probably to make sure that her wife was laying on her side, and she froze when she couldn't feel her.

Blake's eyes shot open, and Ruby felt her stiffen.

"She's throwing up, Blake, go back to sleep," Ruby muttered. She didn't know what time it was, but she did know that she was _exhausted_. Probably from creating a whole human body inside of her at the moment.

Blake started to pull away.

"I'll go make breakfast then. Don't want her to lose too much food-"

"Blakey, your pregnant wife wants to sleep longer, and you're hindering me," Ruby said, scooting closer to Blake.

"But my _other_ pregnant wife needs food."

Ruby let out a huff, reaching her leg up to kick her sister.

Yang jolted awake, looking at her sister as she started to wipe the sleep out of her eyes.

"What do you want you little gr-" Blake glared at her wife menacingly, and Yang's eyes widened "-eat sister whom I love and cherish?"

"Make Weiss breakfast," Ruby muttered tiredly, letting out a yawn as she leaned back against Blake.

Yang grumbled as she rolled out of bed and trudged toward the kitchen. She paused, glancing back at Blake.

"Did I have a nightmare or did we really let a bunch of people spend the night at our new house last night?" Yang asked.

"They did bring furniture. Someone's sleeping on the couch they bought us, I think," Blake muttered, curling closer to Ruby. The young team leader giggled, prompting Blake to open one eye and glance down at her inquisitively.

"Hmm?" she asked.

"You're like a cat curling up around me! It's cute!" Ruby said, grabbing Blake's hand in her own as she let her eyes fall shut again.

"That's racist," Blake muttered as her relaxed again.

"You're my wife, you want me to be nice to you all the time? That's just not very realistic."

"You should be nice to the person that knocked you up. Who knows, maybe I'll leave you with the kid."

Ruby snorted, elbowing Blake gently.

"The only reason that's funny is because of how unbelievable it is."

Blake purred behind her, making Ruby giggle at the vibrations against her back.

"Maybe there's some perks to being married to a faunus after all," Ruby said with a small, lazy smile.

"So you married me for my ears, not my stunning personality?"

"And the purring. Don't forget the purring. I want to have a kid with cute little kitten features."

Blake laughed tiredly, yawning as the pair slowly drifted back to sleep.


	11. Breakfast

Yang set the breakfast down on the counter with a small smile.

Sun came bounding into the kitchen.

"Oh! Did you make breakfast?!"

He reached forward to grab a cookie, and Yang slapped his hand. Sun looked at him like she'd just committed the highest level of betrayal.

"Trust me, you don't want it."

"Why?" Sun asked, now genuinely intrigued.

"Because if Rubes finds out you ate any of her cookies, she'd kill you. Also, they're healthy cookies with like vitamins and protein and stuff. I don't know where Blake found them, but don't let Weiss or Ruby hear that. They think they had some kind of big victory against over protective Blake."

Sun stared at her.

"Wait, wait, wait. They think they wore Blake down, but she really just let them _think_ they did?!"

Yang nodded.

Sun shook his head, pouring himself a cup of orange juice with his tail.

"Think I dodged a bullet not marrying that one. Way too manipulative for me."

"Where do you think Ilia learned it from?" Yang asked, elbowing her best friend.

He snickered, shaking his head.

"So is she really that bad?"

"Oh, Sun, seriously, I _cannot_ express to you how overprotective she is. The other day, a maid knocked on the door and Blake threw it open, holding her weapon against the woman's throat and asking who sent her here."

Sun burst out laughing, almost snorting orange juice out of his nose.

"Seriously?!"

"I kid you not," Yang said, smirking as she peeled the final orange, setting it down beside Ruby's cookies. She had agreed to eat two whole oranges in exchange for cookies, and Yang was honestly still a little spooked at how well Blake had arranged the whole thing. She was starting to wonder if her faunus wife did that sort of thing often.

"Where's everyone else?" Yang asked.

Sun held up his hands, starting to count on his fingers while his tail held the cup precariously.

"Taiyang said something about a special delivery, team CFVY's sleeping late, like usual. Ren's barely stopping himself from making waffles for our team so that Ruby and Weiss don't sniff them out and eat them all. Pyrrha and Ilia are both putting the final touches on the nursery... and I think that team PWNC is still asleep. Well, all of them but Penny, and Winter's probably keeping her in the room like always. Blake's parents are asleep I think, but they could be looking around. Oscar's still in Atlas with Whitley for the break, but you already knew that... and that leaves just Qrow and Elm, who are both in one of the guest rooms right now."

Yang gave Sun a small smile at the run down of their friends, glancing over her shoulder as the bedroom door swung open, revealing a frustrated Weiss.

"She gets to sleep while I throw up. That's fair," she muttered, glaring slightly.

Yang grimaced, pushing some food at her.

"Peppermint?"

"You know what? I'm already tired of that."

"You're only two weeks in," Yang reminded her.

"I miss coffee," Weiss grumbled, popping a peppermint into her mouth as she sat down, leaning against Yang's side. The blond reached her hand down and started to stroke Weiss' hair gently, making the former heiress sigh and close her eyes.

"I know, Angel, I know, you've made that clear."

Sun leaned against the counter, almost spilling his orange juice in his excitement.

"So, have either of you had any weird cravings yet?" he asked.

"No, not yet, thankfully," Weiss said. "Well, yesterday Ruby _did_ ask for honey covered watermelon, but that's nothing out of the ordinary for her."

Sun blinked before he burst out laughing, shaking his head.

"How long are you guys staying?" Yang asked, throwing an arm around Sun's shoulders as she grinned up at him.

He shrugged, glancing at the living room and toward team JNIPR's room.

"I guess that depends on how long you'll have us!"

"Don't you have dorms back at Beacon?" Weiss asked, but there was surprisingly no malice to her words.

"Yeah, but who doesn't want to help their favorite pregnant women?!"

"We might need it. The ultrasound's coming up soon, and I think Blake might go crazy before we get there," Yang said, letting out a sigh as she ran a hand through Weiss' hand idly.

"No, she won't go crazy, not until she's sure the kids are alright," Sun replied, grinning.

"Ugh, I just want to get to the ultrasound! I can't wait to see the little guys or girls. Or guy and girl. Who knows?" Yang said, leaning against Weiss. "Which would you prefer?"

"I think it would be kind of cool to have one of each," Weiss said idly, running her hand against her stomach almost subconsciously.

"Yeah! That'd be pretty awesome," Yang replied, glancing at Sun. "What does the _godfather_ think, huh?"

Sun **beamed** in excitement, tail wagging back and forth enthusiastically.

"Oh, either way! I just want to meet the little ones! Hope you'll let me see a picture of the ultrasounds!"

"Oh, you _have_ to see a picture! You _are_ the closest thing they're going to have to a paternal figure in their lives," Yang said, elbowing him.

Sun rolled his eyes.

"I don't know, I could see you being a father," he said, bumping Yang back with his shoulder.

"Oh, please! I'm _clearly_ all woman," Yang gestured at her chest. "Right, Weiss."

Weiss glared at her.

"Don't ask me questions you don't want to hear the answer to, especially when I have to take this stupid vitamin."

Sun burst out laughed, pointing at the look of betrayal on Yang's face.

Yang rolled her eyes.

"Well-"

She was interrupted as a figure stepped into the room.

"Yang, can I talk to you for a second?" Taiyang asked.

"Uh, yeah, just a second," she said, leaning down to kiss Weiss on the forehead before hurrying out of the room, elbowing Sun on the way out.

Taiyang walked with his eldest daughter toward the garage.

"You left this at the... old house. Thought I'd give it back," he said, opening the door for her.

Yang gasped in excitement, racing toward her motorcycle and running a hand across its side ini a sort of reverence.

"Thank you so much!" she cried, pulling her father in for a hug.

"Hey, it's the least I could offer as bribery for you to let me meet my grandkids."

"You don't need bribery, we'll let you see them every other year," she said, grinning up at him.

He laughed, shaking his head as he reached a hand up to rustle her hair.

She swatted at his hand, laughing.

"So I think your school friends are going back when the break's over," Taiyang said, making Yang nod, as that was what she'd expected, "but I was wondering if maybe you'd-"

"Have room for a sad old blond man? I think Blake's parents already invited themselves to stay for the rest of the pregnancy, not to mention Elm and Qrow, who are probably _never_ going to leave. So yeah, I guess there's probably some room."

Taiyang grinned at her, following his daughter back into her house.

It had felt like just yesterday when he'd sent her off to Beacon, but now... he sighed, shaking his head and refusing to let himself cry. He was happy for his daughters, really, he was... but he was allowed to be a little sad that they were moving on. At least he'd have a pair of grandchildren to spoil now though, right?

He smiled at the idea, letting himself relax slightly.

"When's school starting back up again?" he asked.

"We have another week and a half. I have no idea how Blake's going to handle Weiss and Ruby going back to work while they're pregnant. She'll probably come bursting in during the middle of a lecture demanding that they eat some oranges and then threaten any student that even _thinks_ about looking at thhem funny."

Taiyang snorted as they entered the kitchen, finding Weiss and Ruby gloating to Blake over how she'd changed her mind about the cookies.

Sun was barely holding himself together, biting his lip to keep from laughing.

Yang rolled her eyes.

"Sun, why don't you go check on those girlfriends of yours?" she offered. He gave her a thankful look before saluting and all but skipping out of the room in his excitement.

Yang took a seat beside her sister, grinning as she leaned against her side. Team RWBY started to chat together, and Taiyang watched them with fond eyes. Ruby and Yang might have grown up, but they'd always be his daughters... even if he'd given them away at the alter to Weiss and Blake. Nobody ever really gave up their children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Want me to keep up the science and not tell you the gender at the first ultrasound (cause you can't see gender until like week 14 or something) or do you want me to just ignore that?


	12. Conversations

Yang grimaced as Weiss grumpily crossed her arms on the couch. She had been complaining about her stomach ache when Ruby had mentioned that she was feeling pretty good. Great even! But that hadn't been all. Sun had mentioned that Weiss was showing earlier than expected, causing Nora to make a fat joke.

"She's not fat!" Blake snapped, smacking Nora in the back of the head. "She's _pregnant_ , and you should be nicer to her."

"But she's only three and a half weeks in! What does she have in there, mega baby?" Nora asked. At this, Pyrrha reached over and put a hand on her friend's shoulder. Nora instantly stiffened and turned to Weiss. "I'm sorry, Weiss."

Her words were quick and aslmost tentative as she glanced at Pyrrha, who gave her a kind smile.

"That was very nice of you, Nora. I'm glad you saw how rude your previous comment was."

Nora nodded hastily while Sun and Ilia quietly laughed, staring at their girlfriend with a fond expression.

Blake put her hand on Weiss' knee gently, running her thumb back and forth.

"I think you look beautiful," the faunus said, making Weiss roll her eyes.

"Don't patronize me, Blake."

"I'm not!" the faunus said.

"She _did_ parentize you though!" Yang cried.

Sun burst out laughing while everyone else groaned.

"That was **weak** , Yang!" Ruby called while several of their friends booed.

Yang rolled her eyes sufferingly, dropping onto the couch beside Blake and wrapping an arm around her. Blake was slowly becoming less stressed, as she was falling into the now familiar routine. Despite that, Yang had taken it upon herself to be the official wife to destress the little kitty. She reached her hand up to run it through Blake's hair, causing her shoulders to relax just slightly as she sunk into the embrace, curling up at Yang's side.

"So, when are you going to the prenatal appointment again?" Kali asked. She'd been asking constantly, as if to remind the four that she was excited to see the picture even though she wouldn't be there at the ultrasound itself, considering it was supposed to just be parents.

"Two and a half weeks. You know this, mom," Blake said, letting her eyes fall shut as Yang continued to stroke her head, messaging the ears slightly, as the blond knew that knots could form there.

Today was their last day before they were supposed to go back to school, which was only scaring Blake more and making Yang's job just a bit harder than it already was. She really didn't want to have Weiss and Ruby go back to teaching, and Blake intended to let anyone who would listen (and some that wouldn't) know that she wouldn't hesitate to maim anyone that added any unnecessary stress into their lives.

Yang glanced at Blake's mom and rolled her eyes, pulling the faunus closer.

"I know you'll feel better after the appointment. You'll finally get to see them!" Yang said.

"They'll be the size of peas," Blake replied, but a small smile had grown across her face.

"No, no, no! That's how big _normal_ babies would be at six weeks. Ours are super _dust powered_ babies, Blake. They're going to be **extra** special," Yang said gently, causing Blake to laugh, leaning closer to her.

"Do you think we should schedule another appointment? Just to make sure everything's alright with them considering the dust?" the faunus asked.

"Stop worrying, Blakey. We can feel them! They're _fine_ ," Ruby said.

Blake opened one eye to look between Weiss and Ruby.

"You can't **feel them** yet, they haven't even kicked," she said, but there wasn't any malice to her words. If anything, the comforting of the two pregnant women had helped her sink deeper into Yang's arms.

"Yeah! And we're all gonna be here every step of the way!" Sun cried. "I mean, maybe not _literally right here_ , but we're gonna be with you!"

"Yeah! Definitely! So much so that you'll wish we weren't!" Nora agreed.

"Is it too early to wish that already?" Weiss asked, smirking as Nora gasped in offense.

Ruby giggled, leaning against Weiss' shoulder.

Blake suddenly pulled her scroll out of her pocket, causing Yang to raise an eyebrow and watch the message she sent.

 **Blake:** _If you ever call my pregnant wife fat again, I'll rip you apart piece by piece and leave you for the Grimm to devour you once you're too broken to torment any further on my own, listening to your pathetic screams echo through the wind, never to be heard again._

Nora's eyes widened across the room, her gaze darting to Blake in horror.

 **Nora:** _Yes ma'am. I won't say that again! No siree!_

Blake smiled and slipped her scroll back into her pocket.

"Never knew you could be that vicious," Yang commented, grinning down at her.

Blake leaned up to kiss her gently, eyes turning fond.

"I'd do _anything_ for you five."

"Oh, so there's _officially_ six of us now?" Yang asked, voice laced with excitement.

"There was six of us the moment we used that dust," Blake said, reaching up with one hand to cradle Yang's face in her hand.

The blond smiled down at her, letting out a sigh of content.

"So are you ready for school tomorrow?" she asked.

"Definitely not. And you are _not_ driving Weiss and Ruby there on that death trap of yours."

"My motorcycle is perfectly safe!" Yang cried.

"For you and me? Sure. For two _pregnant women_? No, absolutely not."

Yang huffed, rolling her eyes.

"Fine... fine! No motorcycle rides for the pregnant ladies. But I do hope you realize how insane you sound."

"Love makes you crazy," Blake said with a lazy smile, letting herself slowly fall asleep in Yang's arms. The blond was glad to see her do it, because she knew for a fact that Blake had trouble sleeping the last few nights.

 _Don't worry, Kit-Kat. I won't let you push yourself too far,_ Yang thought, leaning down to kiss Blake's forehead gently.


	13. We're Back

Blake helped Weiss off the airship before hurrying to Ruby's side.

"Are you two sure that you're ready for this? I can talk to the headmistress and I'm sure that she'd give you both some time off, considering-"

"Blake," Yang slapped her hands on the faunus' shoulders and turned her to face her, "calm down. It's just Beacon. There's not going to be a second fall," Blake's eyes widened with sudden fear, and Yang cursed internally. "Bad example. But nothing's going to happen! There's nothing that _could_ happen! They're perfectly safe, Kit-Kat. Just calm down."

"But I can't see them all day! What if somethign happens when we're both super far away?" Blake asked, falling forward into Yang's arms and letting out a groan.

"Then Penny or Winter will help them. It's not like they're going to be all alone, Kit-Kat. They're going to be just fine, I promise."

Blake nodded against her chest, letting out a sigh.

"Promise you'll tell your classes?" the faunus asked her wives.

Ruby and Weiss both nodded, the first excitedly while the second seemed rather uncertain.

"Good. Remember, no loud noises, no cigarettes in use by _anyone_ , no alcohol-"

"Blake, you already went over this fifteen times on the way here," Yang said. "Just calm down. They've got this! They care _just_ as much as you do."

Blake nodded, letting out a long breath before smiling up at the blond.

"You're going to be a great mom."

"You too, Kit-Kat! Now let's get inside before we're late and bad teachers," she replied, sliding her hand into Blake's and threading their fingers together.

Blake sighed and let herself be led inside.

When the four reached their classes, Blake reached forward to pull both Ruby and Weiss into a tight hug (but not too tight, for fear that she might hurt a child).

"Be careful. I love you," Blake said.

"Is she talking to us or the babies?" Ruby whispered.

"Both," Blake replied, smiling down at the pair. "I'm sorry I've been a bit overbearing, but... I'm just trying to make sure we do this right."

"I know, Blakey. I love you," Ruby said, leaning up to give her a quick kiss before hurrying into her classroom without the use of her semblance.

"Just don't stress yourself too much," Weiss added, copying Ruby's actions before she hurried to join her sister in the other classroom.

"Listen to them, Blake. They can be smart sometimes," Yang said with a grin, pulling the faunus in for a tight hug.

"I know, I know. It's just-"

"You're worried, trust me, I know," Yang said with a small eye roll. "Now go teach!"

She shoved Blake toward her classroom before racing down the hall and almost knocking into five students before she reached her own.

Ilia grinned as she saw Blake enter, pulling her friend in for a hug.

"How are you doing?" she whispered as the students watched them with intrigue.

"Better. Just...," Blake let out a breath and shook her head quickly. "Maybe it'll be good to get my mind off it for a few hours."

Ilia grinned at the words, pulling back and running a hand down her friend's arm.

"If you need me to cover for you at some point, just tell me."

"I know. You're a good friend, Ilia."

"Why couldn't you have seen how awesome I was a few years ago," Ilia said with a small smirk, elbowing her friend.

"What can I say? I was waiting for the right people!" Blake replied, already feeling some of the remaining stress leech out of her slowly.

Ilia watched her friend out of the corner of her eye, glad to see her ears droop just slightly as she let the weight fall off her shoulders. Blake had always been far too good at putting pressure on herself.

And it was true, a few years ago, Ilia would have done pretty much _anything_ to hear those kind words from Blake, but now... images of Sun and Pyrrha flashed in her mind, and she found herself grinning. Well, suffice it to say that she was more than over those old feelings of hers.

-

Ruby put a hand to her stomach, suddenly feeling nauseous.

"Hey, Penny, how bad do you think it would be if I threw up during a lesson."

The metallic girl froze, staring at Ruby with fear.

Ruby grinned, letting out a laugh.

"Just kidding. I'll be fine."

"If you need any assistance, Friend Ruby, I would be more than willing to offer it!" Penny said quickly, making Ruby laugh.

"I know, Pen. Thanks."

Penny smiled at her before growing slightly more excited.

"I'm vomit ready!"

Ruby stared at her.

"Get it? Like combat?" Penny offered.

"Did Yang teach you about puns and word play?"

Penny nodded happily.

"Damn it."

-

Weiss glanced at her sister, raising an eyebrow at the way Winter stared at her.

"What?" Weiss asked.

"Are you sure that you should be on your feet for such a long period of time? Perhaps it would be better if you took a seat and let yourself take a break every once in a while. I can take over the majority of teaching, if you want."

Weiss rolled her eyes, letting out a slow, suffering sigh as she attempted to calm herself down.

"I've about had it with people telling me that I should rest. I love you, Winter, seriously, but Blake's at a ten and won't back down, so I need you _at the most_ to be at a solid four. Lower would be highly preferable."

Winter took a moment to consider the words before nodding.

"Yes, I suppose I am being a tad bit too worried. I apologize, Weiss. I merely want to make sure-"

"That I'm safe, that your niece or nephew is safe, yes, yes, I know. Just keep it to yourself."

Winter gave her a small smile of amusement.

"Is she that bad?"

Weiss let out a sigh, running a hand down her face.

"I can't even say that she's _bad_ , Winter! She's doing _perfect_ , which is just... **way** too much. She needs to stop trying to make everything flawless or I might lose it."

Winter frowned, raising an eyebrow.

"She's trying to give your child the perfect life... and this frustrates you?"

Weiss groaned.

"That's why I can't do anything about it! Do you know how exhausting it is to argue against someone's who's completely right?!"

Winter started to laugh just slightly, and Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Just start the lesson, Winter."

-

Yang glanced to the side at a snickering Coco.

"What?"

"You're gonna be a _mom_ , and you're gonna go all soft," Coco taunted.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want, but Velvet wants a ring on that finger, and you're in love with a _rabbit_ faunus."

Coco's eyes widened behind her sunglasses.

"She does?"

"Oh ho yeah she does!"

Coco gulped, glancing away from Yang.

"And what's so wrong with her being a rabbit faunus?" Coco asked with a bit of nervousness seeping into her voice.

"Coco, she's a rabbit faunus. And that means that if she wants kids, which I'm about one hundred and ten percent sure she does... it's probably going to be _a lot of kids_. You **do** know how rabbits breed, right?"

Coco choked on air, starting to cough as students stepped inside. Ren kindly patted her on the back, glancing at Yang with the barest hint of amusement in his eyes.

Yang smirked as she watched Coco finally compose herself. The other girl thought for a moment before coming up with a response.

"That's racist," she offered.

Yang snickered quietly.

"Coco, just a random question, but... how big is Velvet's family?"

Coco's silence and her even paler skin was more than enough to answer Yang's question, and she grinned.

 _That should keep her quiet for the rest of the day,_ Yang thought to herself evilly.

Meanwhile, Coco was caught up in thoughts of Velvet and the future.

Did she really want a ring? Did she want kids?

Surprisingly, Coco found herself... hoping that the answer was yes?! The idea was mind boggling to Coco, considering she'd always been more than a bit of a player... but now she could just imagine herself settling down with the faunus, the love of her life...

_Dust damn it, Yang! Can't you give me these big life changing revelations **after** class?! I'm busy!_


	14. Burning Knowledge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is named after the new official ship name for Ivy x Natalie, which was thought up by DRGUINEAPIG87, and it's perfect! Also, a comment from them is the reason there's a very in depth description of their appearances this chapter!

Natalie glanced around her nervously, tapping her foot against the ground as she leaned on a nearby pillar. She was wondering where her teammates were. Sure, it had only been a few weeks, but she missed them! She missed Oscar being the only one of them with any kind of common sense, Rachel's insanity... and _Ivy_. There was no way to describe her, but Natalie missed her _bad_.

So, she stood against the wall, tapping her foot with her wings hanging down beside her, resting against the ground. She'd forgotten how long her wings were in her period of missing them, and she'd kind of grown use to having more space around her. But she didn't care about that. She was _far_ happier to have them back... even if her wingspan was taller than almost everyone she'd met, including herself, which was saying something given her abnormal height. She towered over her teammates and classmates, especially Rachel. She had on dark black clothing, a leather jacket and loose pants that almost looked like sweat pants, as she always did, that matched her wings almost exactly in color. Her hair and eyes the same shade of midnight black, which juxtaposed her almost vampire-like skin tone. She'd gotten a lot of jokes about being a vampire bat, and had always countered with a vaguely worded threat about sucking the offender's blood out of their neck with her teeth. To top off the whole look, Natalie had on a choker necklace that was a mix of blood red and black. It had a zig zagging shape that make it almost look like her attire depicted spikes. It wasn't exactly that Natalie _loved_ the color black, but... sometimes it paid to look menacing, especially when you wanted to keep others away, and old habits died hard.

Natalie had always thought of herself as rather lanky, what with her exceedingly thin frame that was almost paradoxical to her height, and her skin tone seemed horrifying to her. Despite that, Ivy had told her once, in a vaguely worded sentence, that she always thought Natalie looked cute, like a cuddly little teddy bear with wings. Natalie herself had found that ironic, but Ivy had just smiled up at her, drifting gently back and forth like she always did.

As if Natalie's thoughts had summoned her, Ivy appeared in her peripheral vision, making Natalie's resting expression of ambivalence lift into a grin. She straightened her posture, pushing back against the pillar behind her a bit in the process.

Ivy's gaze darted from Natalie and she frowned at the pillar.

"Hey, Ives!" Natalie called, trying her best to look cool and calm about seeing her again, lifting one leg up and resting it against the pillar casually.

Suddenly, Ivy broke into a sprint, weaving in between students around her before she reached Natalie, grabbing her girlfriend around her waist and pulling her forward. Natalie's face turned a bright red at the contact as she was pulled flush against Ivy. Thankfully, she was able to stop a fire from starting, but just barely.

"Ives, what-"

Before Natalie could finish, she heard a loud crack behind her, and she jumped, looking over her shoulder at the pillar she had been leaning against. It slid backwards and shook against its foundations before finally tumbling to the ground with a **slam** that disrupted the ground around it and drew several looks from their surrounding peers.

"Neopolitan should have been more careful when she repaired that pillar," Ivy said idly, looking at the fallen bit of foundation with her head tilted to the side slightly.

Natalie smiled down at her fondly, reaching her hands up so that they were resting on her arms.

"Thanks, Ives," she said quietly.

Ivy looked up at her, cloudy expression clearing suddenly as she beamed at her.

"You're welcome, Nat!" she replied, leaning forward slightly as she looked up at her fondly.

Natalie flushed at the closeness, and she found herself struggling to take in every detail of her girlfriend. It had only been a couple of weeks, and yet she'd found herself missing every bit of her. Sure they'd messaged, but it really hadn't been the same.

Ivy, like always, had on a bright pink shirt that almost blinded Natalie when the sun hit it. At first, Natalie had thought that was annoying, but now the shining light just seemed to make her seem more angelic. As if to purposefully contrast her bright pink shirt, she had on a crimson red jacket with a zipper she _never_ closed, preferring to let the flaps of her jacket twirl in the wind around her, which never failed to get a laugh out of her, even in battle. Just a few shades darker than her jacket was Ivy's burgundy hair, which hung all the way down to the middle of her back and was hardly ever controlled or tied up. The hair accented her freckles and sky blue eyes, in Natalie's opinion, far too well, making her face seem to pop in crowds of thousands, even if she wasn't wearing her ridiculous outfit, which was finished with a pair of tight ocean blue leggings, which somehow pulled out the worst and the best in the rest of her clothing. Despite what Rachel would describe as _horrible_ attire, Natalie found Ivy to be nothing should of **adorable** , and it put a dopey grin on the faunus' face.

"It's good to see you again," she muttered, kicking at the ground with her foot.

Ivy beamed at her, leaning up so that she was closer to her girlfriend. Ivy wasn't _short_ exactly, actually she was about average height, but compared to Natalie she was definitely tiny.

"It's _great_ to see you again, Natalie," Ivy said, putting her hands on Natalie's face almost reverently. She started to giggle as the faunus' cheeks began to heat up beneath her palms.

"You're so _cute_ ," Ivy said, standing on the tips of her toes and gently pulling Natalie down. The faunus' eyes fluttered shut as Ivy connected their lips. Natalie reached out to hold her around the waist steadyingly, feeling her face turning a bright shade of pink.

"Hey! Watch it, flamebrain! Don't want you burning the school down and causing a second fall of Beacon!" Rachel's familiar voice called out.

Ivy pulled back, making Natalie almost groan, and looked back at their friend and teammate.

Rachel was stamping her foot against the ground to beat the flames out, but a wide grin was spreading across her face.

"Love Bat, pleasure to see you again. You too, Crazy," Rachel said.

Natalie rolled her eyes as Ivy pulled back, racing over to pull Rachel in for a hug. A moment later, the faunus couldn't help herself and joined the pair.

"Did you know that a fortnight is two weeks, and the word is derived from the number fourteen and the word night?" Ivy asked, beaming at her teammate.

Rachel laughed, reaching up to rustle Ivy's hair playfully.

"It _has_ been a while, hasn't it, Ives?"

"Did you know that a light year is a measurement of distance, not time?"

"It _has_ been an eternity!" Rachel exclaimed, making Ivy's smile widen. Slowly but surely, the rest of their team was starting to piece together Ivy's weird language.

Rachel turned to face Natalie, grinning.

"You haven't changed a bit, have ya, Nat? Still as freakishly tall and sickeningly in love, amiright?"

Natalie rolled her eyes and ignored the blush on her face.

Rachel herself hadn't changed at all either, from her demeanor to her appearance. For someone who claimed to be so fashionable, Rachel really didn't mix up her attire all that often. Like always, she had on a pale white tank top underneath a pale yellow jacket, which she often stuffed her hands into the pockets of. Her pants were tight black leggings, and her color combination often caused Natalie to compare her to a bee, which always made Rachel go on a tirade about her teammates and their lack of style. Rachel reached up one hand and pushed a strand of her dark brown hair out of her face. It had probably fallen out of the tight braid against her back when Ivy had all but tackled her for a hug. Rachel looked up at Natalie with an almost challenging glint in her vibrant green eyes.

"Still short and arrogant, I see," Natalie replied, making Rachel roll her eyes sufferingly.

"I'm not _short_ , you just happen to be a dust damn giant!"

"Rach, you're like four foot seven."

"I am four feet and eleven inches tall, thank you!" Rachel hissed.

Natalie raised an unimpressed eyebrow, and Rachel huffed, staring up at her.

"We can't all be almost six and a half feet tall, you smug bat."

"That's racist," Natalie replied, but there was a wide grin on her face. It was odd to be laughing about that, but... for some time now, Natalie hadn't felt like she had to be defensive of who she was, of _what_ she was, and it was refreshing.

"Of _please_ , that's definitely not the worst thing I've heard all day. Plus, you just insulted a whole community of short people."

"So you admit you're short?" Natalie asked, smirking.

Rachel glared vehemently at her.

"I am **not** short, you little as-"

Ivy reached forward almost idly and put her hand against Rachel's mouth, tilting her head to the side.

Rachel rolled her eyes, but she winked at Ivy.

After a moment, Ivy's hand leapt back, and she made an expression of disgust, reaching her hand out to wipe it against Natalie's leather jacket.

"What did you just wipe on me?" Natalie asked.

"My saliva. You're a lucky lady," Rachel said with a grin. Natalie gagged.

"Ives! I thought you liked me!"

Ivy didn't respond, instead looking over Rachel's head (literally).

"Oscar!" she called. A moment later, Oscar rounded the corner and came into view.

"Oh screw you guys, I'm saying hi to Oscar!" Rachel said, shoving Ivy and Natalie back as she sprinted toward their team leader, using her semblance just a bit to give her a competitive advantage in her race.

"Bet you need to use that because you're so small!" Natalie called, grinning as a loud growl erupted from Rachel and she held up a particular finger on her right hand.

Natalie snickered for a moment before skidding to a stop in front of Oscar and Rachel, who were in the middle of a tight hug that Rachel would probably _not_ let go of any time soon.

Natalie and Ivy joined in, grinning at their team leader.

"How'd it go?!" Rachel cried. "Did he give you a sports car as a gift?"

Oscar rolled his eyes sufferingly.

"For the last time, Rach, I'm not some kind of trophy boyfriend!"

Rachel let out a huff.

"You three are no fun. No sense of imagination in the three of you... wait, I take that back. Ivy's way smarter than me and I really don't want her to be my enemy _ever_ ," Rachel said.

Natalie snorted while Ivy giggled.

"IQ test stands for intelligence quotient test," she said.

Rachel stared at her for a long moment.

"Yeah, I'm not gonna lie, I think that her brain scares the crap out of me and I'm glad she's my friend partly because of that, but mostly because she's _hilarious_! Only one of you that's funny, I swear."

"Hey!" Oscar cried.

"Well, Oscar's funny _looking_ , I guess, and Natalie's pretty funny when she gets embarrassed."

The faunus glared at Rachel playfully.

"Oh, you three know I'm kidding! Wanna know what I did on my break? Wait for it to be over!"

"You talk way too much," Natalie said, but she was grinning down at her teammate fondly.

"You know, I think I might have heard than once or twice," Rachel said contemplatively as team ORIN started to separate.

"Yeah, from us, repeatedly," Oscar replied.

Rachel rolled her eyes.

"See? This guy always have to ruin the joke, doesn't he?"

Natalie snorted as she reached over to set an arm around Ivy's shoulders.

"I can be funny!" Oscar cried.

All three of his teammates stared at him levelly, making the team leader sigh.

"Whitley thinks I'm funny," he muttered, kicking at the ground. Rachel laughed.

"Yeah! Of course he does! Everyone always says that the person they're into is funny! That's, like, flirting basics, right?" Rachel paused and looked at her team. "Oh, right, forgot none of you can flirt."

"Is that so? Then why are you the only single one in our group?" Natalie asked.

"Oh, please! You were lucky that Ivy was able to understand that gibberish of yours, and you were _even luckier_ that she didn't realize that you were head over heels for her the moment you met! And as for Oscar, I bet he didn't even flirt! Whitley just fell for him like Weiss for her wives! And the _reason I'm single_ is because I haven't found a single person at this school in my league. You're all so far down there."

Natalie snorted, shaking her head.

"Alright, Romeo. Let's just get to class before you break any more hearts," the faunus said, grinning.

"Oh, yeah! I need to see team RWBY! Come on!" Oscar cried, dashing through the halls and leaving his team to race after him.

Natalie let out a quiet laugh as she darted behind him, keeping her wings close to her body to avoid hitting too many people with them.

 _This_ is what she'd missed. Their insanity that was so weirdly well put together. Her eyes met Ivy's own, and the other girl giggled. She'd missed **them**.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys think Rachel will ever find someone?


	15. Realization

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part of this chapter was suggested by DRGUINEAPIG87!

Jaune didn't like to teach, unlike Nora and Ren. He didn't like the students, didn't like how much they knew about him as a person, didn't like how... most of them seemed like better fighters than him still. And the thing he liked the _least_ about the concept of teaching, was that he could possibly be teaching his old classmates. This was why he was glad that he wasn't being asked to be a teacher by the headmistress, and was instead a guard alongside Fox and Yatsu.

Inside, his friends were all working and teaching the next generation (even if... that was still part of their generation? He wasn't sure, it was all weird). But as he heard the bell ring, he grinned. All his friends were now heading to lunch, which meant he could join them and check up on his team and team RWBY, who everyone was still worried about them, especially Weiss and Ruby for their pregnancy.

Jaune hurried into the school with Fox and Yatsu at his side, all but skipping as he reached one of his oldest friends, throwing an arm around Ruby's shoulders, if gently so that he didn't possibly hurt her. He'd never really been around anyone who was pregnant, aside from his sister, and Terra hadn't been anywhere near as defensive of her as Blake was being of her wives.

Ruby turned to face him with a grin.

"Oh, it's just great to be back at Beacon! It's great to be outside, getting some fresh air, not having Blake breathing down my neck," Ruby giggled and leaned against his side. "She means well, but... well, I'm glad Yang's there at her side and making sure that she isn't going _too_ crazy."

Jaune stared at Ruby blankly.

"That's not her _too_ crazy?"

Ruby laughed, shaking her head.

"Not really. She's been more stressed before, just... not for this long."

Jaune nodded and Ruby let out a sigh, rubbing the back of her neck. She glanced over her shoulders and found that Fox and Yatsu had dropped back so they could join Velvet as she exited her classroom.

Ruby pulled Jaune forward and the pair raced down the hall, both laughing at the excitement they felt. There was nothing for Jaune and Ruby to actually be laughing at, but it was just nice to be back, nice to be back around other people, and Ruby couldn't help but be happy as she gently set a hand on her stomach reverently.

Just as they were about to reach another classroom and meet their friends, a tall form stepped in front of them, cruel smile on his face.

Jaune froze, eyes wide, and Ruby glanced between her friend and his mortal enemy.

"Student, we're trying to get through, please move," Ruby said in her best teacher voice, staring at Cardin angrily. Ruby knew that she could take him, definitely, but... Blake's voice echoed in the back of her head, reminding her that she wasn't supposed to be fighting when she was _pregnant_.

Cardin didn't move, and Ruby didn't back down, glaring at him.

"Don't make me write you up," she said.

"Still have someone fighting your battles for you, Jauney Boy?" Cardin asked.

Ruby tightened her grip on her friend's hand comfortingly.

"Never thought you two would get together," Cardin said offhandedly. "Thought you both swung the wrong way."

Ruby growled lowly, glancing at Jaune.

"There's nothing _wrong_ with that, Cardin, now **move** ," Jaune hissed.

Ruby silently cheered for his bravery.

"You sure? Cause there's definitely something wrong with _you_ ," Cardin punctuated the sentence by shoving Jaune in the shoulder. "And now _she_ won't even fight back."

Ruby set her hand on her stomach to remind herself why she wasn't pummeling this guy. That and because she was a teacher... but it was definitely mostly because of the baby.

"Jaune, you have to do this," Ruby whispered. "I can't... I can't fight right now."

Jaune hesitated, eyes filling with the old version of himself, watching his past mistakes flash before his eyes. Ruby knew he was stuck in his head again, and she let out a quiet sigh. She reached one hand to her belt and whipped her weapon off of it.

"Move it, now," she growled.

Cardin stepped forward, almost putting himself chest to chest with Jaune.

"Threatening a student, Ruby? Doesn't sound like you. Now how about you leave this to the men. Or, well, the man and the **loser**."

Jaune winced as Cardin jabbed him with one finger.

"That's enough," Ruby growled.

"Oh, is it?" Cardin asked.

"It's more than enough," another voice said.

Cardin spun and he was met with a fist.

Blake used his own force of his spin to power her punch even more, causing him to go flying backward. Blake grabbed him by the shirt collar so that she didn't hit Jaune or Ruby. Her eyes blazed with anger as she held him up.

Blake drew her weapon and held it against Cardin's neck.

"Apologize," Blake said. Her mind flashed with memories. When she had first shown that she was a faunus to the school, her teammates had defended her from this same loser when he had made inappropriate and racist comments about her species. Now she was getting the chance to repay the favor.

Cardin went to punch her, but Blake's hand flashed back and she slammed the butt of her weapon against his arm.

"Apologize now, or I'll make sure every remnant of you has been wiped off of this planet. Nobody talks to my friends that way, and that means that _nobody_ lives after they've spoken to my **wife** that way, now _apologize_ or I'll you to your makers. And, spoiler alert, our makers happen to like me quite a lot, and I have a favor still not cashed in. Don't make me use it on making the rest of your existence miserable, because you are **not** worth it! Now apologize!" Blake hissed. She had gathered a crowd around them, who stared in shock as she threatened her student.

Cardin stared at her with fear, struggling in her grip. Blake let the fury seep out of her eyes, replacing it with a sort of cold ambivalence, as if she didn't care what happened to him in the slightest, as if the decision was his and she couldn't control it either way, didn't _care_ enough to put an effort to change the result. Her words weren't a threat, they were a promise, and that promise was more than enough to make Cardin start sniveling.

"I'm sorry!"

"Louder," Blake hissed.

"I'm sorry, okay?! I'm sorry!" he cried.

Blake glanced at Ruby, giving her a small smile. Then, she dropped Cardin and let him scramble off like a wounded animal.

Blake stepped forward and grabbed her wife in her arms.

Behind her, Nora stepped forward and swung her hammer forward, connecting it with Cardin's face and immediately breaking his aura. As he fell to the ground, likely unconscious, Nora stepped on top of his chest and walked forward, kicking him in the face as she hoped down.

"Hey, Jauney cake!" she cried, hurrying forward.

"Hey, Nora," he replied slowly, looping his arms around her waist as she threw hers around his neck.

"I love you," Nora breathed, leaning closer.

"I love you too," he replied, leaning down to connect their lips.

Blake reached down to tuck a bit of Ruby's hair behind her ear.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

Ruby smiled and jumped up to wrap her legs around the faunus' waist, surprising her slightly as she hurriedly steadied her pregnant wife.

"I am now," Ruby said. "That was very brave of you. And weirdly hot."

Blake laughed awkwardly, glancing at the students around them.

"And I finally get why I need you here. You're not protecting me, at least not just me, you're protecting our little baby!"

"That's... what I've been telling you," Blake said, frowning.

"But now I _get_ it! I couldn't protect them, but you could! I get it!" Ruby said happily.

"That's what I'm been telling you!" Blake cried.

"And now I agree!" Ruby exclaimed.

Blake stared at her for a long moment before sighing and shaking her head fondly.

"So you won't fight me?"

"Not so much," Ruby said, leaning down to give her a chaste kiss. "Now take me to the cafeteria!"

"Sugar, I can't just carry you like this to the cafeteria."

"Oh, right! My bad, how silly of me!"

Ruby hopped down and then raced behind Blake, jumping onto her back and almost making her fall over in shock.

"There we go! Now you can see!"

Blake hurried to steady her by putting her hands on Ruby's thighs. She looked up at her wife, raising an eyebrow.

"Really?"

Ruby nodded.

"As pregnant wife number one, I demand it."

"Then how could I now bow to the whims of my pregnant wife? To the cafeteria!" Blake replied, already walking off. She glanced over her shoulder. "Nora, call the nurse. Make sure he isn't dead," Blake paused and smirked. "That'd be too much paperwork."


	16. Differences

Blake slid into her seat in the cafeteria, leaning against Yang.

"I think I'm going a little overboard," she whispered.

Yang glanced at her.

"What makes you say that?" she asks tentatively.

"I almost killed someone."

Yang stared at her, eyes wide.

"I mean, I wouldn't have, but I sure as dust made him think I would," Blake said. "I was just so..."

Yang wrapped her arms around Blake and pulled the faunus into her lap. It was rather concerning that she didn't voice any complaint.

"Just calm down a little, Kit-Kat. Take a few deep breaths, think it through. You know that it's going to be alright, because we're right at your side."

Blake nodded, leaning back against Yang.

Suddenly, Blake laughed quietly.

"I'm taking care of Weiss and Ruby, and you're taking care of me. Who's taking care of you?"

Yang stared at Blake incredulously.

"Blake, you're taking care of _all of us_ , I'm just making sure you don't push yourself too far. I'm right here for you."

Blake scoffed.

"I'm not taking care of you. And I'm not doing enough. I need to work harder, but... I don't know _how_!"

"Blake, you're taking care of both of them pretty much on your own, doing all the research, planning out everything so I don't have to, because I would be _lost_. Nobody here is doing more than the others. We're all doing what we can that none of the others could. I couldn't do all of this preparation and planning, but you can't calm yourself down, can't calm down others like I can. And you're too stressed to have a child, I'm too rambunctious. We picked the perfect people to do the perfect jobs. We work well together not because we're all perfect, but because of the flaws we have that the others can cover. None of us are perfect, but together... well, we're pretty damn close."

Blake let herself melt into her wife's arms.

"You don't love me because I have the same qualities as you. You love me for my differences! And the four of us are able to have such a good relationship because each of us is _different_ , which means we can do _different_ jobs better than each other. Together, we're exactly what our children will need. The same reason our relationship is so **badass** , is the same reason we will be **amazing** parents!"

Blake purred against her chest, letting her eyes fall shut. Yang reached up to gently stroke her head.

"Promise?" Blake whispered.

"I promise."


	17. Proof

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one's kinda ORIN heavy, but the next few won't be, and I'm like 99.9% sure that I'll get out the ultrasound chapter today, so stay tuned!

Natalie's aura tipped her off that there was someone staring in her direction, and she flinched, glancing behind her to see who it was. She was more than a little shocked to find _several_ gazes on her and her team. Most were girls, who grinned excitedly, but there were also a few boys who watched with smirks as they whispered back and forth.

Natalie leaned over to her girlfriend as Ms. Nikos spoke at the front of the room about... something? To be honest, Natalie hadn't been paying that much attention.

"Ives, what's with all the looks?" she whispered, grabbing her hand.

Ivy tilted her head to the side and let her eyes fall shut. She suddenly giggled and pulled closer to Natalie.

"Did you know that fennec foxes were voted one of the cutest animals in existence?" Ivy asked.

Natalie hesitated, about to speak, but her girlfriend cut in, leaning closer.

"I prefer bats."

Natalie flushed deeply and hesitantly moved her arm as Ivy dug her head against it. Her girlfriend made a sort of victorious sound as she moved closer, cuddling up to her side.

"Nat, stop setting stuff on fire!" Rachel hissed, reaching to the side to grab Natalie's textbook, which she slammed closed. That drew the attention of the few students that hadn't been staring at team ORIN, which made Natalie sink further into her seat. She didn't like having that much attention on her. Always made her think that someone was planning some sort of attack.

"Did you know that stress can physically age your brain?" Ivy asked, setting her hand on top of Natalie's own.

"Then why does Natalie act like she's five?" Rachel whispered, taking notes as Ms. Nikos continued her lecture.

Natalie gave her a small glare, rolling her eyes.

"Very mature, Rach," she said sarcastically.

"Well at least I have an excuse!"

"And what's that?" Natalie asked.

"I've never been stressed!"

"Never?"

"Nope!" Rachel replied, popping the p.

Natalie gaped at her.

"How?!"

"It's easy when you don't care about other people or what they think of you."

Natalie rolled her eyes.

"That's not the _only_ reason people get stressed, Rach."

"Well then maybe I just don't have enough common sense to get stressed. Or scared."

"Rachel, you don't get scared because you're a little gremlin that can knock someone five times your size out with one punch!" Natalie hissed.

"Exactly! Don't have to rely on luck or other people that way!"

"I can't believe I'm about to say this," Natalie started, shaking her head, "but I think you confuse me more than Ivy did."

"Well, Ives, you should be worried then! Only reason you caught little love bat's attention is because you were the puzzle she couldn't _quite_ figure out. Guess she's leaving you to hunt after me."

Ivy giggled.

"Did you know that one in every seven hundred thousand people get hit by lightning?"

Natalie smirked.

"That _is_ more likely than me leaving you, isn't it?"

Ivy nodded vaguely, looking at Rachel but seeming to almost see through her.

"Good thing too, because I'd have to impolitely spurn your advances, Nat. Not really my type."

"And why's that?" the faunus questioned.

"Oh, please don't make me make a list. Don't know if our friendship could survive that."

Natalie snorted, shaking her head.

"You're so dramatic, dust!"

"Says the person that started a fire when her girlfriend kissed her this morning."

Natalie rolled her eyes, face flushing just slightly.

"Save it for the next sparring session! Dust, don't want our main battle strategy to stop working."

"Don't worry, I'll still be able to make her blush," Ivy said idly, almost as if she hadn't realized what she'd said.

Rachel snorted and Natalie glanced down at her girlfriend, who had the slightest hint of a smirk on her face. Oh, she had **definitely** known what she'd said, and the redness that spread across Natalie's face had been entirely on purpose.

Before Natalie could try to playfully get back at her, the bell rang, and team ORIN scrambled to get their things together.

Ivy latched onto Natalie's hand as they started to leave the room, which prompted Natalie to feel the odd uncomfortable sensation that always accompanied her when she _knew_ someone was staring at her.

She glanced to the side and saw a small group of girls watching them, giggling.

"What are they laughing at?" Natalie muttered, rolling her shoulders nervously.

"Did you know blind people smile even without ever having seen a smile before?" Ivy asked idly.

Natalie raised an eyebrow, silently wondering if that had been an insult about the gang of snickering girls. The small smirk on Ivy's face told her it had been.

As they walked through the hallway, Rachel leading the way because Oscar with an infectiously excited attitude, Natalie noticed that several of their classmates were staring at team ORIN, but not for the reason they usually did.

Typically, most gazes landed on Oscar, which wasn't a surprise considering who he was, but now... Natalie couldn't go two steps without sensing another gaze falling on her.

As they finally reached their next classroom, about twenty awkward glances and side eyes from her peers later, Natalie finally found one of her new watchers that was willing to throw her a bone.

"You two are cute together," a girl said, smiling at Ivy and Natalie. The bat faunus flushed, wings subconsciously pulling closer to herself and her girlfriend.

Ivy grinned at the girl, though the expression was slightly distracted, and Natalie found herself stumbling for something to say.

"I, uh... what makes you say that...?"

The girl laughed, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, come on, you _know_ why! You've got the whole goth and hippy aesthetic, but really _you're_ the bumbling mess around her. It's cute."

Natalie flushed deeper, prompting Rachel to swing her backpack at a fire that appeared on the door.

"Excuse me, ma'am, I urge you to _not_ compliment my friend here, she's got the emotional maturity of an infant. Can't take it, you see? And by pointing out that she's a mess, you're going to burn the whole school down, and we _certainly_ don't want that, do we?" Rachel asked, giving the other girl a smirk. The girl giggled.

"You're pretty funny."

"I do try. Have to have something about me to get the attention I so _clearly_ crave."

The girl laughed again.

"Rachel, right?"

Rachel gave an unnecessarily extravagant bow.

"In the flesh!"

She held out her hand, and the other girl took it, laughing again.

"Now, you see, that puts me at a slight disadvantage here, and I _do_ love a level playing field."

"What disadvantage might that be?" the other girl asked.

"You know _my_ name, but I find myself scrambling to remember yours. Terribly sorry, my mind just isn't what it used to be ten minutes ago."

"Alea."

Rachel grinned and hit herself in the forehead playfully.

"Ah, yes! How could I forget?"

Natalie and Oscar watched the exchange, glancing at each other with the same confused expression on their faces.

Ivy just swayed back and forth, swinging Natalie's hand along with her in the same rhythm that she always did. Natalie would have to ask her why she always swayed to the same beat some day, but right now was not the time.

The bell rang, and Rachel's eyes flickered up.

"Terribly sorry, but I must bid you farewell, Alea. Some other time, perhaps?"

Alea laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, sure, why not?"

Rachel grinned before rejoining her team.

"What are you louts waiting for? Come on!"

As they walked into the classroom, Natalie elbowed her friend.

"What did I just watch out there?"

"Me showing you that you're horrible at flirting."

"So _she's_ your type, but _I'm_ not?"

"Course she's not my type! But it never hurts to practice!" Rachel replied, sliding into her seat with a grin.

Natalie watched her for a long moment before glancing at Ivy.

The two shared a look of confusion, and Natalie finally shrugged.

"She might be better at flirting, but at least _I_ got the one I wanted."

Ivy giggled.

"I think _I_ trapped you, actually."

"Is that so? Do tell how," Natalie replied.

"I _did_ get you to confess, didn't I?" Ivy asked.

Natalie rolled her eyes.

"You having a brief stint where you talk like a normal person?"

"Did you know that all humans are ninety-nine point nine percent genetically identical?"

"That lasted all of two minutes," Rachel muttered, rolling her eyes.

"New record," Oscar added, grinning.

Natalie leaned against Ivy as the lesson started, grinning to herself. She really had gotten the one she wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, also, just wanted to mention that I'm sorry if I'm not updating like usual lately. Remember when I said I had a headache? Turns out THAT was a sinus infection and now I'm taking antibiotics that make my stomach feel like CRAP, so yeah. Not to mention high school work during the quarantine is just a BUMMER! But the update schedule will be about like today most days for the next few weeks, promise!


	18. Time

The next two and a half weeks passed _relatively_ calmly.

The first day was hectic, especially when team ORIN had found out about the pregnancy.

_/_

_"You're pregnant?!" Natalie asked Ruby in shock during their last class of the first day back._

_Ruby had grinned excitedly, nodding far too quickly._

_"And so is Weiss! We're having two little babies!!!!"_

_Ivy had smirked, swaying back and forth._

_"You are?"_

_Ruby glanced at her, raising an eyebrow. Comments like that were what usually frustrated and scared Weiss, who didn't like the idea of someone else knowing more about the world and her than she herself did. Especially when that someone was slightly... off putting, to say the least._

_Ivy intertwined her fingers with Natalie, and the faunus hesitated._

_"Dust! Is that why you kept saying those weird things to them?!"_

_Ivy giggled and leaned toward Ruby._

_"Congratulations! I'm sure you're all going to be **fantastic** mothers!"_

_Ruby smiled back at her enthusiastically, about to respond, but Ivy beat her to it, again._

_"The average faunus had three children."_

_Ruby glanced at Natalie, frowning.  
_

_"Uh... would you mind translating that one for me or..."_

_"She's my girlfriend, but even I don't understand everything she says."  
_

_"Did you know that you only use approximately ten percent of your brain consciously?" Ivy asked._

_"Did she just call us stupid?" Rachel asked._

_"I honestly don't know," Natalie responded._

_Meanwhile, Oscar had thrown himself at Ruby and engulfed her in a tight hug._

_"Oh, I'm so happy for you! I can't believe I wasn't there to help you guys move into your new place!"_

_Ruby laughed, glancing behind her as Penny quickly steadied her friend, as if worried that Ruby might fall over and somehow injure the baby on her way down._

_"Don't worry about it, there were **more** than enough people there," Ruby said, grinning broadly._

_"Still! I wish I could have been there! Oh, you four are going to be **great** mothers!"_

_"You should tell Blake that! She's definitely the one who's the most nervous about this whole thing," Ruby said._

_"Oh, don't tell me she's going to be a tiger mom," Oscar said as he pulled back._

_Ruby giggled._

_" **Tiger** mom you say?"_

_Oscar rolled his eyes._

_"Oh, you **know** I didn't mean it that way! I swear, you and your sister with those puns."_

_Penny suddenly burst out laughing._

_"Tiger mom! Because she's a cat faunus! Hilarious!"_

_Oscar stared at her with horror._

_"Oh, Winter is **not** going to like that new development," he said._

_Ruby winced._

_"She does **not** find it as amusing as Penny does. I think she might kill Yang for teaching her."  
_

_"Can't blame her," Oscar replied._

_"Oh! Mrs. Belladonna-Schnee! Can I touch your stomach?!" Rachel asked excitedly._

_Ruby laughed._

_"There haven't been any kicks yet, and you can hardly tell I'm pregnant, but I guess you can."_

_Rachel dashed forward, placing her hand on her stomach._

_"I **always** wanted to be able to do that!"_

_"Touch a pregnant woman's stomach?" Oscar asked._

_"Yes!" Rachel cried._

_Ivy tapped Natalie on the shoulder and pulled her to the side, away from their teammates and teachers._

_"What's wrong, babe?" Natalie whispered, setting her hands on Ivy's waist gently. There was a slightly nervous look to the other girl's eyes, which made Natalie frown. Ivy was **never** nervous._

_"If I tell you something, can you **promise** not to tell **anyone**?"_

_Natalie nodded quickly.  
_

_"Of course, Ives," she replied, running her thumb up and down against her girlfriend comfortingly._

_"Not even Oscar and Rachel?"_

_Natalie nodded._

_"And team RWBY. Especially them."_

_Natalie rolled her eyes._

_"I can keep a secret, Ives," she said sufferingly._

_"If you tell anyone, I might just have to break up with you."_

_Natalie started to laugh, but caught the serious look in Ivy's eyes, causing the amusement to die in the back of her throat._

_"O-Okay. Just tell me. I won't say a word."_

_Ivy nodded and leaned closer, putting her mouth next to Natalie's ear as she began to whisper._

_Ruby let out a loud laugh, smiling fondly at Oscar._

_"You got yourself a good partner, didn't you?" she asked._

_"I guess I can put up with her for a little longer," he replied, smirking._

_Rachel slapped him on the arm._

_"That's slanderous! I'm freaking **amazing**!"_

_Oscar rolled his eyes and looked at Ruby with an expression that seemed to say "see what I mean? She's a handful!"_

_Ruby laughed and was about to respond when Natalie gasped dramatically._

_All eyes shot to her._

_"Really?!" the faunus cried._

_Ivy reached one hand up to cover her mouth, nodding._

_"Really."_

_"And you're not going to tell-"_

_"Correction: **neither** of us are going to."_

_Natalie nodded slowly, glancing back at the rest of the room as her girlfriend removed a hand from her mouth._

_"Sorry about that," she said awkwardly, offering a small smile and a chuckle. "Where were we?"_

_/_

All four members of team RWBY had noticed that Natalie and Ivy had been acting weird around them, but didn't really seem to think much of it. After all, team ORIN **always** acted weird, and _especially_ Ivy.

Besides, they had other, far more important thing to worry about... such as, apparently, oranges, which had become the main part of both Weiss and Ruby's diets since they'd became pregnant. Blake would occasionally pop her head into a classroom and set a few peeled oranges in a bowl on the table.

That never failed to cause Ruby and Weiss to groan in frustration. Usually the former heiress would mutter something along the lines of "mind her own business" or "wait until lunch, it's _in fifteen minutes for dust's sake_!"

Despite that, Blake had started to calm down slightly, getting used to the idea that in a few months they'd have two babies of indeterminable gender that would need constant care and attention from their mothers. She'd been reading about twins, but most of the stuff she found had to do with women pregnant with two babies, which wasn't really applicable to their situation, so she discarded most of that. She also ignored how many couples would talk about how difficult it was to have two children when there were two people in the relationship.

The four had had a good laugh at that, making a few jokes at the expense of monogamous people everywhere (which had earned them some strongly worded messages from Ciel and Winter, who had both overheard the conversation at lunch).

Blake had been getting over her stress, but Yang was starting to worry that the ultrasound would cause a spike in her nerves. After all, finally seeing a picture, if in horrible quality and tiny, of the two little babies that were going to change their lives forever would, understandably, make Blake even more worried for their safety.

Yang could remember Blake reading about how big the babies were at four weeks and the faunus had almost broke down crying.

_/_

_"They're just so tiny! If they were on the ground, I'd step on them!"_

_"Kit-Kat, they're not on the ground, you won't step on them."_

_"But they're so **small** , Yang! And what if I drop them when they're born!"_

_"You won't drop them!"_

_/_

It had been a rough couple of hours, taking care of her emotional wife. It was also weird that it wasn't Yang's _pregnant_ wife for once that was doing that.

Ruby and Weiss hadn't had too many mood swings, but Blake and Yang had already started to sense a pattern.

Weiss tended to become angry or frustrated _far_ easier, and Ruby was more of a crier. Thankfully, it was pretty controlled so far... but both knew that it wouldn't last for long.

Especially considering _tomorrow_ was the ultrasound, and all four girls were watching the clock as they taught, practically buzzing with anxiety and excitement and anything in between.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Take your final guesses!


	19. Ready

Blake dashed out of her classroom right as the bell rang, beating every student outside and leaving Ilia to wrap up the lesson on her own. The faunus skidded to a stop outside of a familiar classroom, running a hand through her hair and taking a deep breath.

A moment later, Weiss stepped out of her classroom and glanced to the side, finding Blake leaning against the door frame with a familiar grin on her face.

"Hey, beautiful," she said, reaching out to grab Weiss around the waist and pull her closer.

"Blake, I'm six weeks pregnant and already starting to show, you don't have to do this."

"But you _are_ beautiful, now and forever, even when you're in that hospital room giving birth, you're still be one of the three most stunning women in the world."

Weiss scoffed and tried to tell Blake she didn't need to do that, but she was blushing just slightly. She'd been missing the flirtatious comments from her wife, and was glad they'd been making a resurgence in the last week. And she wasn't just happy to be complimented, although that was a plus considering she was pregnant and tired all the time. She was happy that her wife was calmer now, ready to be playful in her weird way again.

"Flatterer," Weiss said.

"What can I say? You bring out the best in me," Blake replied, pulling Weiss a bit closer and giving her a kiss. "Now let's go see our beautiful children."

Weiss laughed and leaned against her side as they started to walk down the hallway.

A moment later, Yang came jogging up to them, grinning.

"You guys ready?!" she cried excitedly. Ruby, who had just burst from her classroom, positively **beamed**.

"Dust yeah I am! Let's go!" she cried, grabbing Weiss' hand as they headed toward the exit.

They were rushing, but still going at a pace that Blake thought was appropriate for two pregnant women. Even when she was calmer she was still a bit overprotective, which was something her wives loved about her (even if it could be annoying sometimes, especially now that they actually had a **reason** to be overprotective of something).

The four got words of encouragement from their friends before they exited, climbing into a car Taiyang had let them borrow for the last couple of weeks so that they could get to and from Beacon easier without using Yang's motorcycle, which Blake still labeled as a death trap and would continue to do so until Ruby and Weiss had given birth.

"No, no, no, Blake! You are _not_ driving us," Yang said, grabbing the faunus around the waist and hefting her into the air just as she was about to open the door to the car.

"What? Why not?"

"Because I might be foolhardy, but you're _way_ too nervous to drive us there. Now get in the passenger seat," Yang replied, setting her wife down with a small grin.

Blake rolled her eyes, but did as told. Honestly, she was glad that she could be in the passenger's seat. This way she could check on Ruby and Weiss during the drive without almost killing them all when she looked in the backseat.

"Why do we have to take the backseat?" Weiss asked irritably. It was an old, familiar argument that the former heiress hoped would be able to distract her wives from their nerves about the doctor's appointment.

"Because it's safer and if we get in a crash you two need to be protected," Blake replied instantly.

"We're not gonna crash," Yang reminded them as she started to drive down the road.

"We might. You do have a death wish," Ruby said with a small smirk.

"Owning a motorcycle does **not** mean I have a death wish," Yang said.

"But driving one with a pregnant woman riding with you _does_ ," Blake replied. "Besides, you're not going to drive it with the kids either."

Yang glanced at her.

"I'm not?"

"Of course not! You can't put our children in danger like that!" Blake cried.

"Knowing their parents, at least _one_ of the two will want to be a Huntsman or Huntress, and you're worried about a _motorcycle ride_?" Yang asked.

"Obviously! Especially if they're little! Can't have them getting hurt," Blake said. "Turn right."

"I know how to get to the hospital, Blake. You've been quizzing me on it every day, like you think those two are going to go into labor at any second."

"That's _not_ why I've been quizzing you on it. Labor it only _one_ emergency that could occur with children or pregnant women, and I want you to be prepared in case something happens!"

"Wouldn't you be there too?!" Yang asked.

"But what if I'm not?!" Blake cried.

"Kit-Kat, calm down, I know the route to the hospital," Yang said, reaching one hand over to set on the faunus' thigh gently.

Blake let out a sigh.

"I know, I know. I'm just-"

"Nervous?" Weiss, Ruby, and Yang all offered at the same time.

"Excited. I was going to say excited," Blake replied, rolling her eyes.

"No you weren't," Yang said.

"I was!" Blake cried, throwing up her hands. "Just because I'm nervous doesn't mean I can't be excited too!"

"Stop giving her a hard time, Yang," Ruby called from the back.

Blake smirked.

"Better do what the pregnant woman says, Yang," the faunus said, seeming to visibly relax.

"That is _so_ not fair. You can't play the pregnancy card against me! **I** didn't get you pregnant, Rubes," Yang said.

"No, but the baby's going to be your kid too, so you have to treat me and your unborn child better," Ruby replied.

"This is just creepy. Never say that again," Yang said.

Ruby rolled her eyes.

"It's not like I called you my baby momma, Yang."

"Stop it," Yang called from the front, but she was grinning.

The excitement in the car was almost palpable. From the tapping of Blake's foot against the ground to Ruby's hand holding Weiss' far tighter than necessary.

Yang finally pulled into the parking lot, and Blake threw open the door, hurrying back to hold open Ruby's and give her a hand.

"You ready?" she asked while Yang went to help Weiss.

"I was _born_ ready!" Ruby cried.

"You were born ready to have the child of two women you've never met who also married your sister?" Yang asked.

"Fine! If you want to get all technical, I started a _relationship_ ready."

Blake glanced at her.

"What?"

Ruby waved her hand dismissively.

"I knew we'd be married and have kids from the moment we starting dating, Blakey, this is old news. The only surprise is the dust."

Blake took a moment to stare at her wife in shock.

"Blake, it might not have been love at first sight, but Ruby's right, we all knew where this was going. Right, Angel?" Yang asked.

Weiss scoffed.

"All of us but Blake, apparently."

"I guess I'm a player. Never thought I'd settle down," Blake said, grinning at the laughter it caused from her wives.

"Oh, yes, you were breaking hearts _long_ before you met us," Weiss said with an air of sarcasm.

"Ilia and Sun _did_ have a thing for her," Yang pointed out, making Blake smirk.

Ruby leaned closer to the faunus.

"But _neither_ of them get to have her, because she has incredibly high standards!" Ruby glanced at her sister. "Except for one, but that's just an outlier."

"Rubes, I swear-"

Blake cut her off, stopping in front of the door to the hospital.

"Are you guys sure you're ready? Do you need a minute?" the faunus asked.

"I'm starting to think she's the one that needs a minute," Weiss said under her breath.

Blake ran a hand through her hair.

"This is a magical moment, Weiss. We're about to see our children for the first time. I _meant_ are you ready to have one of the best moments of your life."

Weiss laughed and reached one hand up to run down Blake's face.

"Of course I'm ready."

Blake smiled down at her fondly for a moment before turning back to the door. She took a deep breath before pulling it open and gesturing for her wives to walk in.

She was ready, but, more importantly, _they_ were ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh! I keep forgetting! I meant to say it at 300k, then I meant to say it at 350k, but I FORGOT both times!
> 
> Anyways, we just hit 375k words! YAY! Thanks, you guys!


	20. The Ultrasound (Part 1)

Blake's leg bounced up and down as she sat in the waiting room. Finally, a woman entered the room, looking at the four wives with a bit of hesitation.

"Can I help you?" the nurse asked.

Yang grinned and bounded to her feet.

"Yes! We're the Belladonna-Schnee family, and we're here for the prenatal appointment!"

The nurse stared at Yang for a long moment.

"Oh, dust, you're actually real," she muttered.

Blake rolled her eyes, reaching a hand forward to grab Yang's and pulling her back down into a waiting chair.

"The appointment's under the names Ruby and Weiss Belladonna-Schnee," Blake said.

"Yes... yes, I remember talking to you on the phone," Blake grimaced, "right this way, please."

Blake stood up, and Yang rolled her eyes as she did the same, wondering why her wife had found it necessary to make her sit down again.

Blake turned and held out her hands for Ruby and Weiss, but Yang gently elbowed her out of the way, grabbing Weiss and hauling her to her feet with surprising gentleness.

Ruby let herself be pulled into Blake's embrace, smiling up at her.

"Fancy seeing you here," Blake said. "Come here often?"

"Oh, only when my two wives get me pregnant with highly experimental dust and then have to make sure the child's okay."

Blake laughed, and Ruby found herself relaxing at the sound. It was good to hear that sound again, that's for sure. It felt like Blake went so long without a good laugh.

"What about you?"

"Oh, I knocked up some random girl, now I have to take care of the child," Blake said, lowering her voice slightly in an attempt to make herself sound like some sleazy dirtbag.

"Uh, correction, you knocked up _two_ women. Who knew Blake was such a player?" Weiss asked.

"Oh, that's right! It's _two_ women. I can hardly keep track of who all I married," Blake said, grinning.

Yang was about to respond with something witty, but the nurse cleared her throat, staring at the four with a look of disinterest.

"Sorry," Blake muttered.

"How far along are they?" the nurse asked, scribbling on her paper.

Blake instantly leapt to respond.

"Ruby has been pregnant for exactly six weeks, a day, four hours, and thirty two minutes. Weiss has been pregnant for exactly six weeks, a day, four hours, and five minutes."

The nurse paused.

"Next time just tell me the week, please."

Yang snickered while Blake nodded quickly.

"You know the minute we got pregnant?" Ruby whispered.

Blake flushed slightly.

"It... seemed important."

Ruby smiled at her fondly, reaching up to cradle her face.

"It is. I'm glad you know."

Blake looked like she was about to lean down to kiss her, so the nurse cleared her throat.

"Step onto the scale please, Mrs. Belladonna-Schnee," she said.

The four hesitated.

"Which one?" Yang finally asked.

The nurse let out a sigh, running a hand through her graying hair.

"That one," she said, pointing at Ruby.

Ruby jumped onto the scale excitedly, keeping her eyes on her wives and sister.

"Oh, we're finally going to get to see them! I can't wai-"

"Stay still," the nurse snapped.

Yang smirked at her sister, causing Blake to elbow her in the side with a small glare.

The next few minutes were relatively boring as the nurse had Weiss and Ruby weighed and measured, writing down a few numbers.

"The doctor will be with you shortly," the nurse said. She hesitated, then smiled for the first time since seeing them. "And you'll get that ultrasound you're all chomping at the bit for."

Ruby giggled and fell against Weiss' shoulder. Blake seemed to relax further, falling into Yang's arms.

There were a few minutes of the four girls waiting for the doctor, during which Blake saw Weiss starting to get frustrated. To calm down the former heiress, she walked over and pulled her wife into her lap, wrapping her arms around her waist and starting to purr.

Weiss leaned against her chest, eyes falling shut.

"I hope at least one of them will be a cat faunus."

"Why's that, Angel?" Blake asked.

"Because I want to hear someone else purr."

"Sounds kinda racist," Ruby said as she put her head on Weiss' shoulder.

"No, I just mean... it's nice to hear it. It means that we're making Blake happy, and it's comforting."

Blake smiled down at her, setting her chin on her wife's head.

"Then I hope one's a cat faunus, Angel," she breathed.

"I hope they're _both_ faunus!" Yang said, wrapping her arms around Blake and Weiss. "Humans are just so boring, you know?"

"Hey, don't talk about humans like that. I happen to be married to three members of that species," Blake replied, smiling a bit playfully.

"Well I'm _one_ of those wives, and I'm saying that I'm right!" Yang said.

"What gives you the right to decide what's right and what's wrong?" Weiss asked.

"I'm about to be a mom! My word is _law_ to those kids."

Ruby snorted, prompting her sister to playfully mess up her hair (one of the only ways Blake had allowed her to mess with her sister during the pregnancy, considering the faunus seemed to think that any gentle bump might hurt the infants).

Just then, the door swung open to reveal a small older man with a kindly smile across his face.

"Are you the Belladonna-Schnees?" he asked.

Blake wondered why he felt the need to ask, considering he likely didn't have any patients like them, but she nodded anyways.

"I'm Doctor Harpen, and I'll be your guide through this whole thing!" he said happily, flipping through his sheets. "Now, which ones of you are Ruby and Weiss?"

The pair held up their hands, and the doctor gestured for them to each have a seat on the two examination tables.

"Who wants to go first?"

"I think Ruby might actually die if she isn't first, so I guess her," Weiss said.

Ruby shook her head quickly.

"No, Weiss, if you want to go first, you totally can!" she replied.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Dust, Ruby, just let me be nice for once."

Ruby laughed and got more comfortable on the table.

"I really don't care who goes first! I just want to see our babies!"

The doctor laughed as he snapped on a pair of gloves.

"Alright! Do you mind if I call you all by your first names, cause it'll get kind of confusing if I have to resort to the last name."

Ruby giggled as the four agreed.

The doctor took a seat by her side, causing Weiss, Blake, and Yang to all come crowding up at their sides.

The doctor put his hand against Ruby's stomach and gently started to poke around. Ruby giggled at the action, making Weiss roll her eyes.

"That's odd. You already seem to be showing. Could there be a reason for that?"

The doctor glanced at Blake, and she quickly stepped in.

"Yes! Yes, there's a reason, actually. We used this new type of dust from Atlas to help get them pregnant, and I was doing some research about it. Apparently the baby's develop a bit faster at the beginning, because the fertilization process is just... kind of skipped? Anyways, a cell is formed immediately after the use of the dust, and that skips the first two weeks of pregnancy, which is basically the fertilization process itself."

The doctor nodded, laughing quietly. Blake had spoken so fast that he couldn't cut in and say that he was actually very well acquainted with the stages of pregnancy, and had actually read up on the dust, wondering if he'd have a patient that had used it at some point in the future. He certainly hadn't expected that so soon, however, and had been doubling up his research for these four in particular.

Blake smiled and let herself lean into Yang's side, setting her head on her shoulder.

"Still, this _does_ seem a tad bit early to be showing, but then again I've never had a patient use this dust before," the doctor said considering, starting to pull a bit of equipment from the side of the room.

While her wives seemed a bit unfamiliar with the object, Blake's eyes zeroed in on it, widening dramatically.

It was the ultrasound machine.

Blake stood straight immediately, leaning over and grabbing one of Ruby's hands in her own, Weiss clutching the other while Yang reached over to set a hand on her shoulder.

The doctor grabbed a bit of gel and leaned over Ruby.

"This might be a bit cold at first, and I'm going to need you to lift your shirt."

Blake did it for her, not wanting her wife to have to let go of Weiss' hand.

The doctor glanced at the four and clutched quietly, starting to use the gel on Ruby.

Ruby made a sound of surprise, causing Yang to snicker.

Ruby didn't let the cold deter her excitement, however, and she eagerly watched the doctor as he progressed.

Blake felt Yang wrap an arm around her waist, and she was thankful for the support, both literally and figuratively.

"Are you four ready?" the doctor asked.

The four glanced at each other, sharing a secretive smile.

"Born ready," Ruby said, causing Yang to scoff.

"Thought we talked about that already, Rubes."

"Yeah, we did, and I was thinking about it on the way in here. I was _totally_ born ready for this! If you'd dropped baby Blake and Weiss into the hospital, we totally would have gotten baby married right away."

Yang scoffed.

"Rubes, it took you months to work up the courage to tell _me_ that you liked Weiss, let alone Blake, and now you're saying baby you would have been braver?"

"How are we forgetting the fact that newborns can't talk?" Weiss added, causing Blake to snicker and give her a fond smile.

"Yes, that's the important part of this conversation," the faunus said, rolling her eyes. Yang stuck her tongue out at her.

Meanwhile, the doctor was running the machine against the gel, and the moment the monitor changed, Blake, Ruby, Yang, and Ruby's eyes shot to it.

The doctor leaned forward to point at the monitor.

"See? There they are!" he said happily, causing all four of the women in the room to gasp dramatically.

Blake's eyes started to fill with tears as she reached out to gently touch where the baby was shown on the monitor.

"There they are," she breathed, almost to herself.

Weiss raised one hand to cover her mouth as a tear fell down her cheek.

Yang was holding back tears at the display, staring at what _almost_ looked like a blob, but was really a **baby**!

Ruby wasn't crying at all. Instead, she was grinning excitedly, even starting to giggle.

"Blakey, move your hand! I want to see them!"

The faunus retracted her hand and flashed Ruby a quick smile of apology, but her expression soon turned reverent once more.

"Do you want to know the gender or have a big rev-"

"Tell us!" all four girls said together.

"This precious little baby... is a girl!"

All four gasped, grinning in excitement. They would have been equally enthused with a boy, but... just knowing was more than enough to make Blake start crying gently again.

"And... a faunus! If you look closely, you can see a little tail curled around her!" the doctor cried.

Weiss grinned and glanced at Blake, the two sharing a moment of excitement together.

"Now... well, that's odd," the doctor said.

Blake's blood ran cold.

"What?! Is something wrong?!"

The doctor suddenly grinned.

"No! Not at all! Just follow my hand...," he moved his hand to point at a higher point of the monitor, "and you'll see... baby number two!"

Blake almost fainted, her legs going numb as she fell into Yang's awaiting arms.

"What? What's he saying?" Ruby asked, eyes wide and filled with confusion as she stared at the second little baby blob.

"Sugar, you're having _twins_ ," Weiss explained, her voice barely above a whisper, as if speaking louder would break the spell of shock that hung in the air.

"Twins," Blake echoed, eyes wide as she stared at the second baby.

"That alright, Kit-Kat?" Yang whispered into her ear.

"Oh, and will you look at that... a little baby boy!" the doctor said excitedly.

Ruby let out a squeal of enthusiasm, pulling Blake and Weiss closer by the hands she still held.

"I'm having twins! There's going to be seven of us!" she cried.

Blake stumbled and almost fell, Yang righting her at the last moment.

The faunus stared at the monitor with a mix of horror and awe, and slowly she reached her free hand forward to touch where the second baby was.

"Twins," the breathed again, but this time her voice had an air of excitement in it.

"Are they identical?" Yang asked, glancing at the doctor, who laughed.

"One's a boy, Yang," Weiss answered. "No, they're not identical."

"Is he a faunus?" Ruby asked.

"That's impossible to tell. He could be, but I don't see any signs of...," the doctor slowly trailed off, eyes widening.

Blake glanced at him.

"What?" she prompted.

"Won't you look at this little rascal, hiding in the corner."

All four girls froze.

"What?" Weiss asked slowly, as if she already knew the answer but really didn't want to hear it out loud, for fear that would make it real.

"There's a third little guy or gal, right... there!" he leaned forward and pointed at the corner of the monitor.

Blake almost _did_ faint this time, and Yang barely caught her from her own shock.

"Triplets?" Ruby asked, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Yes indeed! And it looks like baby number three is a beautiful little girl!"

Blake finally got her feet back under her, and she reached out to touch the baby blob.

"She is beautiful, isn't she?" Blake breathed. "And so is she," she gestured at the first girl they'd seen with a nod of her head, "and he is too."

Yang glanced at her.

"You seem surprisingly calm, Blake."

"Oh, I'm definitely not calm," Blake said, though she was purring, creating a rumbling sound in the room. "I think this is the most stressed I've ever been in my life, but... triplets. Yang, we're having _triplets_!"

Her wives glanced at her, and Blake could tell they were wondering if she was having a mental breakdown. She didn't think she was... but then again, maybe she was! She was having _four_ kids! That idea was simultaneously the scariest and most exhilarating thought she'd ever had.

Weiss glanced at the doctor before she spoke.

"Is there a fourth, or are you done dropping bombshells on us?"

Ruby giggled at the words, starting to laugh inexplicably loudly.

The doctor nodded, and Ruby fell back against the chair.

"Triplets!" she cried so loudly that the doctor worried people in the other rooms might hear her.

"I'll... give you four a minute," the doctor said.

"Eight. Us _eight_ ," Blake correct, smiling gently.

"Are you okay, Kit-Kat?" Yang whispered, rubbing her shoulder with her hand.

"Honestly?" the faunus asked, smile widening. "Yeah. I'm _great_! It just feels like... if we're having kids, go big or go home! I've **literally** stressed as much as I can, and now... well, what happens will happen!"

Yang and Weiss didn't seem quite as invigorated, the two glancing at each other with wide eyes.

Ruby, however, was **beaming**.

"Blakey! You get it!" she cried.

"Yes I do, and now you're going to get _so_ many more vitamins and oranges," Blake replied, reaching one hand down to boop her wife in the nose.

Ruby grimaced.

"Oh, right."

"How did this happen?" Yang finally asked.

"Well... this _is_ a type of fertility treatment, and those usually stimulate the birth of twins and sometimes triplets... so I guess the dust does that too," Blake said. She reached her hand out again and touched where the babies were on the monitor.

"I guess that means we don't have to argue over names anymore, right? We have four!" Blake said, starting to laugh.

"Seriously, Blake, are you okay?" Weiss asked nervously.

"Oh, yeah, don't worry about me! Worry about Yang! I think she's starting to be the worrier of this relationship!" Blake started to laugh again, retracting her hand from the monitor and setting it on Yang's waist to steady her.

"That's so many damn kids," she breathed.

The words caused her wives and sister to laugh, breaking the tension in the air.

"You okay, Weiss?" Ruby asked, pulling her closer.

"Yeah. I mean... I guess I'm just... shocked," the former heiress said.

Her wives could _certainly_ agree with that.


	21. The Ultrasound (Part 2)

Weiss let out a slow breath, eyes wide as she took a seat on the examination chair where Ruby had been. Where Ruby had been when they had been told she was having triplets. Her. Ruby. Her wife. Triplets. As in three babies, plus the baby Weiss had.

"Guess we didn't need two of you two get pregnant to have more than one kid, huh?" Blake asked, leaning over and grabbing Weiss' hand.

"How are you so calm?! You've been freaking out for the past six weeks!" Weiss cried, glad the doctor wasn't here as she yelled at her wife.

Blake shrugged, grinning down at her.

"Because? I honestly don't know! I'm just happy to be here."

"Did we break her?" Ruby asked, leaning against Blake's side as the faunus wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Probably not, because I'm going to be more careful with you than ever, but... I'm weirdly not scared," Blake said. She laughed and let her head set itself on Ruby's shoulder.

Yang grabbed Weiss' other hand, the pair sharing a look.

"Is Blake okay?" Weiss mouthed noiselessly.

Yang shrugged.

"I think... I think I get it," Ruby said. "This is, in some ways, the worst case scenario, and the best, but... now Blake _knows_ what's happening. She's _seen_ it, and... it's always comforting to know what's going on instead of having to guess."

Blake grinned.

"Exactly! Now I **know** that we're going to have three babies from you crying in the middle of the night, waking us up, being moody teenagers. The whole thing! And let me tell you, when I saw them...," Blake paused, eyes filling with tears, "when I _saw_ them... everything felt better. Like I had finally... well, **seen** why I was doing this! I have a picture of them _right here_ , and I know I'll do anything for them. And there's _three_ right here!"

Blake waved the ultrasound picture she held in one hand, grinning as she looked at it.

"Those are our _children_ , and yeah, they might kind of look like grey cheetos, but they're _our_ grey cheetos!"

Yang snorted, looking at her copy of the ultrasound, which she clutched in her hands tightly.

"Yeah. I think I get it. Look at those little blobs! We _made_ those!"

Weiss stared at her wives, eyes wide.

"You're all insane. Blake, what about your fears with budget? What about the house? Is it big enough for four kids?!"

Blake snorted.

"Weiss, don't say four kids, we still haven't gotten a look in that belly of yours."

Weiss paled further, which sounds almost impossible with her already almost colorless skin tone.

"Do you think I have more than one?" she breathed.

Blake shrugged, leaning over and smiling down at the former heiress.

"Who knows?! But I _do_ know one thing!"

"And what's that?" Weiss asked.

Blake suddenly turned serious, grabbing Weiss' face in her hand and tilting it toward her.

"Whether you have one kid in there or _fifty_ , I'm going to be the happiest faunus in the world."

Weiss stared at her, eyes wide.

"Seriously! How is Blake perfectly fine with this while I'm still freaking out?!" she cried.

Ruby giggled and leaned closer.

"Don't worry! We'll be fine! We're all in this together."

Weiss didn't know why her wives all suddenly seemed calm when _she_ was having a breakdown.

For most of this pregnancy, she'd been chill and calm, going with the flow for once in her life. And now she was panicked!

Blake suddenly frowned.

"Weiss, seriously, calm down, stress isn't good for the baby or babies. Calm yourself."

Weiss gaped at the faunus.

"Are you worried or not?!" Weiss demanded.

"Yes. And no. I don't know, I'm just... I'm happy! My worries can take a vacation for today, and I'll just be cautious," Blake said, grinning.

Her wives glanced at Blake, but she just let herself relax, pulling Ruby closer.

Just then, the door opened and the doctor walked in. Weiss pushed herself subconsciously further from him in her chair, as if she was worried he would attack her with facts and reality again. Almost like it was _his_ fault that they were having four or more kids instead of the expected two.

The doctor must have seen her fear, because he chuckled quietly.

"Do you need another minute?" he asked.

"Nope! We're fine!" Blake replied, gesturing for him to come closer. "Now go ahead and tell us what all's waiting inside of Weiss."

Yang made a face.

"Kit-Kat, that was gross."

Blake just laughed, letting her head fall to the side and rest against Ruby's while their team leader reached out to set her hand on Weiss' arm, rubbing it gently and, she hoped, comforting her wife.

Weiss watched the doctor with hesitance as he grabbed the gel.

Blake reached down and pulled up her shirt for her, giving her a gentle smile of reassurance.

Weiss seemed hesitant, glancing up at her wives for comfort.

Blake just smiled, gently running a hand on Weiss' stomach before reaching up to run it through her hair. Ruby was excitedly, bouncing on the tips of her toes. Yang was a bit hesitant like Weiss herself, which surprisingly comforted Weiss the most, knowing that Yang was scared too but was ready anyways.

They would be totally fine doing this. They'd be fine. Probably. Yeah, they could take care of a bunch of kids.

"Go ahead," Weiss breathed.

The doctor started to spread the gel across her stomach, and Weiss flinched slightly.

"Would have thought the Ice Queen herself wouldn't be bothered by a bit of cold," Yang said.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"When will that die?" she asked.

"Never!" Yang whispered, making the former heiress roll her eyes sufferingly.

"Don't worry, Weissy! Doesn't matter how many little ones you have in there!" Ruby cried.

"Good," the doctor said, "cause there's a lot."

Blake glanced at the monitor, and her blood ran cold.

"Baby one, baby two, baby three, baby four. That makes seven babies and maybe more," the doctor said, laughing at his own rhyme as if their lives were some joke to him.

Blake immediately lost her chill and slumped into Ruby's arms, almost falling to the ground.

There was a beat of silence that held over the room for a long time.

"They outnumber us," Blake breathed dramatically, "like a little baby army. They're gonna kill us."

Yang sat down at Weiss' feet to stop herself from keeling over.

"You could say that again."

Blake took a moment to just stare before she reached her hand out, shakily, to touch the first baby she saw.

"That's a little girl," the doctor offered.

A bit of calm washed over Blake as tears filled her eyes. She moved her hand to the next.

"Baby boy."

Her hand moved again, taking in the monitor with disbelief.

"Beautiful little girl right there."

Blake finally moved to the last as tears fell down her cheeks. One would expect them to be tears of sadness, but no, if anything, they were tears of unadulterated joy. Sure she was going to have... seven kids, and tomorrow she'd be _heavily_ freaking out, but... she was going to have _kids_!

"Baby girl."

Blake nodded.

"Five girls," she whispered almost to herself, "and two boys."

"Looks like we need more names," Yang offered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! That's the end of the bombshells! Anyone survive the blast?


	22. A Plan

Weiss was almost comatose as she was taken outside by her wives.

"There's almost twice as many babies as there are parents," she whispered.

Blake glanced at her.

"Yeah, I guess. But you decided to have quadruplets instead of quintuplets, so I guess there's just a little less than twice as many," the faunus said, pushing the door open for her wives as they started to head toward the car.

"That's so many babies!" Ruby cried excitedly.

"That's so many babies," Weiss echoed, but her voice was _far_ less enthusiastic. "What are we going to do?! The nursery has _two_ cribs! And not to mention the _budget_! Good thing we have the house paid off cause we're _definitely_ going to need the money!"

Blake started to purr, pulling her wife closer and setting Weiss' head against her chest gently.

"Don't worry about it. You just keep growing that baby, and you let me worry about it. Sound good?" the faunus asked.

Weiss struggled weakly in her arms.

"But what about _diapers_! Oh, dust, that's going to be so much crying!" she moaned.

"You let me worry about that. You know me, I _always_ have a plan, Angel. So why don't you just have a seat," Yang opened the car door for Weiss, "and you let me figure out the plan for you. You take a nap maybe, have something to eat if you're hungry, I brought some oranges, and you relax."

Weiss suddenly spun and grabbed Blake by the collar of her shirt.

"You promise?" she all but pleaded.

"I promise I'll figure it out. Now have a seat, maybe take a nap. Today's been a long day."

Weiss seemed to relax, nodding.

"Yes, it has been a long day," she sat down and turned to Ruby, who was already buckled in. "Blake has a plan. She's going to figure it all out."

Ruby smiled at her gently, grabbing her hand.

"I know! She's _super_ smart like that."

Weiss nodded slowly, her almost hysterically fast breathing slowing down as she pulled closer to Ruby, sitting in the middle seat so that she could be in her wife's arms.

"You okay to drive? I have to make a few calls," Blake said.

Yang nodded, unlocking the car.

"Yeah, uh... yeah, I can drive."

Blake pulled out her scroll and dialed a number.

"Hi, Glynda."

"Blake, how did it go?"

"Great! Yeah, it went great, but... we're going to need the day off tomorrow."

"All four of you?"

"Definitely all four of us."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Blake glanced at the rear view mirror and saw that Weiss was starting to fall asleep, "just a few... surprises. Five surprises, to be exact. But we _really_ need the day off. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Wai-"

Blake hung up the scroll and pulled up another contact.

This one, she decided to just message.

 **Blake:** _We really need some quiet today. I promise we'll explain everything tomorrow, but please don't let anyone try to get into contact with us today or tomorrow until after school. Just have everyone meet up at our place after school._

 **Ilia:** _Is everything okay?_

 **Sun:** _Do you need someone to come over?_

 **Blake:** _Everything's fine. Just a little shocking, but fine. Please just do what I said._

She got a few more messages, but Blake slid her scroll back into her pocket gently, leaning back and staring at the ceiling of the car.

"You okay?" Yang whispered.

"I'm fine. I'm just thinking."

Yang reached over and set a hand on her knee.

All of Weiss' questions from earlier spun in her head.

 **Blake:** _Actually... we might need to call in a few more favors._


	23. Reactions

Yang hurried to the back door of the car and opened it, reaching in to grab Weiss around her waist. Ruby glanced at her and smiled, rolling her eyes. Weiss had fallen asleep in the backseat earlier, and Ruby was kind of tired, but she fought it off.

Yang gently held Weiss in a bridal carry and stepped toward the house, but Blake hurried in front of her.

"I need to go in first," she whispered. "Just keep Weiss away from the door.

Blake stepped up to the house and took a deep breath before she opened the door.

Almost immediately, Blake found herself pulled into a tight hug.

"Oh, Blake! How did it go?!" Kali cried, pulling her closer.

Blake shushed her, glancing over her shoulder and wondering if Weiss had been startled awake. She hadn't been. Blake let out a breath of relief and turned to her mother.

"It went... great, but... surprising. Can you three," she looked between her parents and Taiyang, "just be quiet while we take Weiss to the bedroom and let her sleep. Then we can talk."

Kali frowned in confusion, stepping forward to hold Blake tighter.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm fine, but... please just let us bring Weiss to bed."

Kali nodded, pulling back and gesturing for Taiyang and Ghira to do the same.

A moment later, the door opened wider as Blake's wives stepped inside.

"Sugar, do you want to take a nap with Weiss? Let Yang and I handle everything?" Blake asked as Yang hurried toward the master bedroom to put Weiss down in bed.

Ruby nodded slowly.

"Just... stay calm, okay, Blakey?"

Blake gave her a gentle smile and a quick kiss on the top of her head.

"Don't worry, Sugar. I'm fine."

Ruby nodded and headed toward the bedroom. When she'd exited the entry way, Blake let out a sigh, running a hand through her hair as she leaned against the wall.

"What happened?" Kali instantly asked, hurrying forward. Ghira and Taiyang followed her.

"Children. Children happened. Seven. Seven of them happened."

They all stared at her before Taiyang burst out laughing.

"You're kidding, right?"

Blake shook her head.

"Triplets and quadruplets, Ruby and Weiss respectively."

Kali's eyes widened in shock, staring to sparkle with excitement.

"You're serious?!" she hissed.

Blake nodded.

"That's amazing! So many grandchildren!"

Blake nodded again.

"Yeah. So many. So, so, _so_ , many children. They outnumber us by so much. They're going to kill us...," Blake scrambled to grab her ultrasound pictures out of her bag, looking at them and running her hand over the photos.

"Is that them?!" Kali hissed.

"Yeah, that's them," Blake breathed, staring down at the photos with a loving light in her eyes. She started to cry.

"Oh, Blake, it's going to be alright. You'll-"

As Kali and Ghira started to hold their daughter, Blake cried harder.

"They're so beautiful," she breathed. "Look at them! Aw, look at her little tail... she looks so cute...," Blake ran her thumb across the first girl they had seen in Ruby's ultrasound.

"She has a little tail!" Kali cried in awe, looking down at the photo.

"What are their names?" Taiyang asked, stepping forward and looking over Kali's head to see them. "How many girls and boys?"

"We... haven't really talked about the names since... well, I know that Weiss liked the name Crystal, Ruby liked Auburn or Ivory, Yang liked Akio, and... I wanted Adolpha. And there were five girls, two boys."

Taiyang reached forward to take the photos, but Blake all but snatched them out of his reach, holding them to her chest. He stared at her, and she flushed slightly.

"Sorry," she muttered, holding it out for him to see both photos but not letting them out of her grasp. "I just... I just need to have them with me."

"I get it," Taiyang said comfortingly.

Blake nodded, staring down at them.

A moment later, Yang stepped back into view, looking almost dazed. Blake stared at her, and the two seemed to gravitate toward each other, Yang wrapping her arm around Blake's waist and let the faunus put her head on her shoulder.

"I love you," Blake whispered.

"I love you too."

"I love them."

"Ruby and Weiss?" Yang asked.

"Yes, but... that's not who I meant."

Yang smiled down at her and ran a hand through her hair, enjoying the purring that started against her chest.

"I love them too."

"But I'm kind of mad at them."

"What? Why?" Yang asked, laughing.

"They had to be little jerks and all be born at once."

"But you... want them all?" Yang asked slowly.

Blake pulled back, eyes wide.

"How could you even... of course I do! I mean, I wouldn't have thought about," she struggled to say the next word, "seven, but... I'm so happy to have them. The moment I saw them..."

"Nothing else mattered," Yang finished for her.

"Yeah," Blake said.

Yang held her tighter, setting her head on her wife's head.

"Taiyang brought up a good point," Blake said suddenly.

"First time for everything," Yang said, causing her father to roll his eyes and scoff. "What was it?"

"We need names," Blake said.

Yang laughed.

"Oh, too bad we only planned for _four_ children names. Who would have thought we'd have **seven**?"

Blake laughed and leaned closer.

"We should talk about it when they wake up."

"Maybe you need a nap too, Kit-Kat."

"Can't. I have things to do, stuff to plan, things to stress about."

Yang pulled her even closer.

"No, I think you have a bed that's calling out your name," the blond said, picking her up in the air and starting to carry her toward the bedroom.

"Sorry dad, sorry Kali and Ghira! I know you have _so_ many questions, but we really need to rest for a while. Today was... a lot, and I think we'd all feel better if we were together."

Blake finally let herself be carried off without struggling, dangling just a little ways up in the air.

When they reached the bedroom, Blake gently closed the door and fell against the bed. Yang grabbed her around the waist while Blake pulled Weiss close, turning her on her side.

"Remember to lay on your side," Blake mumbled.

Weiss pulled Ruby closer and turned her onto her side, making all four of them a set of spoons tucked away under the covers together.

"You have a plan?" Weiss mumbled.

"No," Blake breathed.

Weiss fell closer to her.

"That's alright. I shouldn't have thought you'd make the entire plan. It'll be a group effort."

Blake felt herself relax again, tucking her chin against Weiss' shoulder.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"Thank you," Blake breathed.

"Thank _you_ ," Weiss replied. "I love you."

"I love you too. I love _all ten_ of you."


	24. Baby Steps

Blake woke up to Weiss crawling out of her arms and racing to the bathroom. Blake let her eyes fall back shut, pulling closer to Yang.

"Guess we know why she's been having four times as much morning sickness as normal people," Blake muttered.

Weiss growled as she vomited again.

"Sugar, come here," Blake mumbled.

Ruby sat up and raced out of the room, holding her mouth.

"Looks like she's having three times as much," Yang muttered.

Blake rolled her in Yang's embrace so that she could be facing the blond, setting her head against her chest.

Yang snickered, and Blake glanced up at her, eyes heavy.

"What are you laughing about, soon to be mother of seven annoying little monsters you'll love to death?" Blake asked.

"Like the pillows?" she asked.

Blake opened her eyes and rolled them a moment later, pulling away from her wife's chest.

"Whatever, I'll just go lay on my own-"

Yang grabbed her and pulled her back.

"You know I'm messing with you. Stay."

Blake grumbled and yawned.

"How long can we lay here before we have to go check on the two pregnant women throwing up in our bathrooms?" Blake asked.

"Depends."

"On?"

"How much they puke."

Blake chuckled quietly and let herself fall back into a daze of half sleep and half awareness.

A few minutes later, the door to the bathroom opened.

"I'm in there throwing up and you two are just _sleeping_?" Weiss asked.

Blake groaned as she pulled away from Yang.

"I was _planning_ , actually," Blake said.

"Planning on another nap?" Weiss asked irritably.

"Planning our _life_ , actually."

"How so?" Yang asked, stretching slightly and making sure her mechanical arm was in place.

"We just take it one step at a time. First: names."

"That's it? That's the plan?" Weiss asked, smirking at her.

"No. There's other steps. But I don't want to overwhelm you, so I'll just say one."

Weiss stalked out of the room, mumbling something about ranch dressing and waffles.

"Get oranges!" Blake called after her.

"Do you have any other steps planned out?" Yang asked.

"Just two others," Blake mumbled, falling against her side.

"Come on, let's get you something to eat. What do you want?"

"Protein cookies. It helps to eat some to make Ruby think that they're real."

"Is it bad that I kind of want ranch dressing on waffles now?" Yang asked.

Blake looked up at her in horror.

"Okay, Yang, it's one thing to have my pregnant wife that has four babies in her uterus asking for weird cravings, but I can't deal with you actually eating ranch dressing and waffles."

Yang rolled her eyes.

"It's not _that_ weird."

"Yes, it is," Blake said, rolling her eyes as she stepped out of the bedroom.

"Are we letting her have them?" Yang asked.

"Yesterday, I would have budged. But now that she has _four_ kids inside of her? No way!"

Yang raised an eyebrow.

"How are you going to stop her?"

Blake stepped into the kitchen to find Weiss putting a frozen waffle in the toaster.

"Hey! Stop that!" Blake chided, pulling her away.

Weiss groaned and tried to reach toward the ranch dressing she had put on the counter.

"Make me one, Angel!" Ruby called.

"Neither of you are having ranch dressing and waffles! Do you know _why_?!" Blake said.

"Because you're overprotective?" Weiss asked.

Blake grabbed a photo and shoved it in Weiss' face.

"This is why!"

Weiss stared at the ultrasound photo.

"Are you going to use this picture against me every time?"

"Will it work?"

Weiss huffed and pulled away, looking at the waffle with longing before trudging over to Ruby's side.

Blake held up the other photo for Ruby, causing her to pout.

"They are so cute," she grumbled.

"And?" Blake prompted.

"And I love them," Ruby said, pouting.

"Good! Now have some fruit."

Ruby started to eat the strawberries with a melancholy look on her face.

Weiss rolled her eyes and joined her, snatching a few.

"Okay. Step one. Names," Blake said, taking a breath as she took her seat.

They could do this, one step at a time.


	25. Names

Blake let out a sigh, running a hand through her hair.

Ruby grinned as she pulled closer to Weiss, setting her head on the former heiress' shoulder.

"Yes! I've been excited for names!" she cried.

Blake smiled at her fondly, leaning against the counter.

"I'm sure," the faunus said.

"You're always excited for _everything_ ," Weiss said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, yeah! I don't have anything to _not_ be excited about," Ruby replied, smiling at her rather frustrated wife.

Weiss scoffed and shook her head.

"Do you know how hard it is to be frustrated around you? You're always so annoyingly chipper."

"That's why you love me, though," Ruby said, kissing her on the cheek.

"Hey, focus!" Yang said, snapping at the pair. "We're doing something important here!"

"Right! Names!" Ruby said, pulling away from Weiss slightly as Blake set down the two ultrasound photos.

"We should decide on which one gets which name, right? It would be weird to just have a list of names and then decide which one is which when they're born," Blake said.

Yang snickered as all three of them agreed.

Blake reached one hand down and pointed at the first baby they'd seen in Ruby's ultrasound, eyes landing on the little tail wrapped around the girl.

All four of them hunched over the picture for a long moment, staring at it.

"I still like Crystal," Weiss said, running one finger against the picture.

"Do you want it to be her?" Ruby asked, making Weiss glance at her, surprised. She would have assumed that Ruby would want to spearhead the names of the three babies she was carrying, but Ruby just grinned at her fondly.

Weiss leaned against her again.

"Yeah. She looks like a little Crystal," she replied.

"She... kind of does look like a real crystal. That or a blob," Yang said.

Weiss narrowed her eyes at her wife.

Yang held up her hands in defense.

"She's cute though!" the blond said quickly, seeming to calm her wife.

Blake took out a pen and wrote, in blue lettering, _Crystal_.

"How about this little guy?" Ruby asked, pointing at the only male in the set of triplets.

"I know you liked Auburn, Rubes. Why not that?" Yang asked, leaning against the counter with a fond smile on her face.

"But you liked Akio," Ruby responded, frowning.

Yang waved her hand dismissively.

"There's always the other boy," she said, making Ruby laugh and shake her head.

"Who would have thought we wouldn't have _enough_ names?" Ruby asked.

"Nobody," Blake said, letting out a long breath. "Anyways, do you want this little guy to be Auburn?"

Ruby glanced at Weiss for a moment, finding that the former heiress was watching her with a small smile.

"Yeah! Little Auburn!" Ruby said, reaching a hand up to her stomach and gently stroking it.

Blake wrote _Auburn_ next to the second baby, smiling gently.

"And then this one," she said, pointing at the third and final triplet. "What's her name?"

"Didn't you like Adolpha, Blakey?" Ruby asked.

Blake nodded, but a contemplative frown covered her features.

"Yeah, but... this one doesn't _feel_ like an Adolpha."

"Are you saying she isn't good enough before she's even born?" Yang asked, smirking.

Blake didn't look at her wife as she elbowed her in the ribcage.

"That's _not_ what I'm saying. She just... she feels _different_..."

"I get it," Weiss said suddenly. "That one _felt_ like a Crystal," she continued, pointing at the first baby they had named.

"Then what do you want to call her?" Ruby asked.

Yang leaned closer and stared down at the small child, which had seemed to be hiding in the corner of their monitor when the ultrasound had began.

"When I was younger," Yang started, "and Rubes was still a littler gremlin, dad once told me that I'd almost been named Lavey. He said it meant unity, togetherness... but then Raven left, and it was just him and Summer... and he said it didn't really fit anymore," Yang took a moment to look at her wives, smiling just slightly before her gaze landed on Ruby. "I think we should name her that. You know, fix the mistakes of the past or whatever."

Ruby grinned and nodded excitedly while Blake wrapped an arm around Yang's waist.

"We're not going anywhere," Blake whispered.

"I know. That's why I suggested it, Kit-Kat," Yang said, eyes holding a light of sincerity and honesty before switching to a hint of smugness. "And then we can finally hold it over our dad, right, Rubes? Show him how much better _our_ wives are?"

Ruby laughed and agreed while Blake carefully wrote _Lavey_ next to the last triplet, smiling to herself.

Blake grabbed the other ultrasound picture and set it down in front of her wives, frowning just slightly.

"When we were at the hospital, we didn't really look for any distinctive features," Blake said, "so we're going to need to pay attention now if we want to able to tell which one is which."

"Well, that one's the boy," Weiss pointed out, gesturing at one of them.

Blake rolled her eyes before glancing at Yang, who grinned.

"Oh yeah, that Akio alright," the blond said.

Blake wrote _Akio_ at his side, careful not to cover any part of the baby with her writing.

Ruby leaned closer, eyes narrowing as she squinted.

"Hey! That one has little ears on the top of her head!" she exclaimed.

Three sets of eyes darting to the baby girl, and Blake found a small smile spreading across her lips.

"Her. That one's Adolpha," she said.

Her wives all glanced at her before nodding.

 _Adolpha_ , she wrote in gentle lettering beside the baby.

"How about this one? There's _something_ on her back," Yang said pointing to another girl.

They all leaned in closer to look at the third quadruplet.

"There _is_ something on her back," Weiss said, tilting her head to the side as if to get a better angle. "Is that... normal? Or should I be worried?"

Blake shook her head.

"No, that's... that's some sort of faunus trait, but I can't quite tell what," Blake replied, running a finger over the baby.

"Hey, look at this one. She's so cute," Yang said, looking at the other one. Her eyes suddenly widened. "We should name her Jin! I always loved that name!"

"Because it means your favorite color?" Ruby asked, rolling her eyes.

Yang scoffed.

"Please! You wanted Auburn," she said, grinning.

Ruby rolled her eyes as Blake reached over Weiss to write _Jin_ next to the four quadruplet.

"That just leaves her," Weiss said, squinting at the final baby to be named, who had a protrusion on her back.

Just then, Blake's ears twitched as she heard footsteps coming toward them. She glanced up and raised an eyebrow as she saw her mother step into the room.

Kali leaned over to look at the pictures, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't want to intrude," Blake held in a laugh, "but that one sure looks like an Aella."

"Mom, how long have you been thinking about naming a grandchild that?" Blake asked.

Kali hesitated.

"That's not important," she decided on, making Blake roll her eyes.

"I like it! Sounds _cool_!" Ruby said excitedly, making Kali grin to herself.

Blake glanced at her other wives, who all nodded.

 _Aella_ she wrote beside the final one.

The four took a metaphorical step back to look at the pictures.

_Crystal, Auburn, Lavey, Adolpha, Akio, Aella, and Jin._

Blake wrapped her arm around Yang's waist and leaned against her.

"These little troublemakers," Weiss muttered, a small fond smile adorning her features. "I love them."

All three of her wives echoed her sentiment, even if these seven children may or may not have been trying to kill them with stress.


	26. New Surprises

"They're all so adorable!" Kali cried.

Blake barely stopped herself from stealing the ultrasound photos back from her mother, distracting herself by writing on the copies her wives had, making sure their children's names were written on all of them.

"I can't believe there's seven of them," Taiyang said.

"Me neither," Weiss muttered, shaking her head as she idly ran her hand over her stomach gently.

"Are you really going to name her Lavey?" Taiyang asked, glancing at Yang.

"Yup! Just to show you how much better team RWBY is than team STRQ ever was."

Taiyang scoffed while Yang and Ruby high fived.

"Blake, if you need us to stay a little longer, that's perfectly fine," Kali said.

Blake held in a scoff.

 _I'm sure it is,_ she thought.

"I think we'll be okay."

Weiss stared at her.

"Blake, are you sure? There are _seven_ of them," the former heiress said.

"Yeah! We'll be fine! We've got friends and... and Qrow and Elm!" she said, gesturing at the pair as they stepped into the room, hands clasped between them.

"What has you two so happy?" Taiyang asked. "I almost never see Qrow smiling."

Elm giggled and Qrow rolled his eyes. She glanced at him, and he let out a reluctant nod.

Ruby gasped as Elm held up her hand for them all to see.

"Oh my dust!" she cried, almost using her semblance to dart over, but she stopped herself with a glance at Blake. "You're getting married?!"

Elm held up her hand and the light glinted off the ring, almost blinding the others.

"That's awesome!" Yang cried. "Never thought I'd see him settling down."

Qrow rolled his eyes as Yang elbowed him in the ribs.

"Took him long enough!" Ruby cried.

"I guess that's going to make her not just an aunt, but a great-aunt as well!" Yang said, making Elm laugh and lean closer to Qrow.

"That's right!" Ruby said, eyes wide as if she had just realized the secret to the universe.

"How'd he ask?" Taiyang questioned.

Elm grinned as she started to describe it.

"Oh, it was **so** romantic!"

_/_

_Elm waited anxiously by the front door for team RWBY to come back with the answer to the question burning in all their minds._

_Qrow seemed a little distracted, though, and he reached forward to grab her hand._

_"Hey, Elm, can I talk to you for a second?" he asked, voice raspy as usual, but somehow anxious._

_"Sure!" she said excitedly, but she glanced over her shoulder at the front door, hoping it wouldn't take too much time so that she could see the ultrasound pictures._

_Qrow gave her a small smile as he led her outside through the back door._

_"I know this... really isn't the time for this, but...," he reached down toward his pocket awkwardly, "I've only had this for a week, waiting for the right time, and it's been burning a hole in my pocket. I wish this could be the right moment, but I can't **wait** for the right moment, I want it to be this moment."_

_Elm frowned in confusion before gasping as Qrow sunk down to one knee, holding up a small box._

_"I know when we started dating, everything was... different. Clover was here, and things have changed. We both loved him, and we still love him, but that doesn't make my feelings for you any less valid, any less **real**. I'm in love with you, Elm, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."_

_Elm felt tears rolling down her cheeks and Qrow opened the box to reveal a ring._

_"Elm Ederne, will you marry me?"_

_"Yes! Yes, I'll marry you!"_

_Elm nodded and he reached forward to grab her hand, holding it gently as he slid the ring onto her finger._

_"I love you," Elm whispered as he stood._

_"I love you too," he replied just as quietly, leaning up to give her a solid kiss._

_When he pulled back, Elm set her hands on his waist._

_"I miss him too but... Qrow, I've never been happier than I am right now. I wish he could be here... but that's alright. I love you so much."_

_Qrow smiled gently at her as he put his hands on her shoulders._

_"I wish I could have found the perfect moment," Qrow said._

_"This is the perfect moment. Any moment that you would have asked would have been the perfect one."_

_Qrow laughed and leaned closer._

_"Dust, you're always so cheesy."_

_"I know! But you love me anyways!"_

_"Yeah," he said gently. "I do."_

_/_

"Uncle Qrow can be romantic?" Ruby asked, clearly shocked.

"Blake's more romantic," Yang said, sticking her tongue out at Qrow as if to say 'my wife is better than yours will be.'

"But she didn't propose, did she?" Elm asked teasingly.

"Good thing, too! She would have been so romantic that the shock killed us! We never would have gotten to get married!" Ruby cried, leaning against Blake with a smug smile.

Blake laughed awkwardly, glancing at her parents as they stared at her, frowning.

"She's romantic?" Kali asked.

Yang grinned as Blake tried to shush her.

"Oh, definitely! Best flirt I've ever seen! Dust, she made three women fall in love with her without noticing! And let's not forget Sun and Ilia! Not to mention the fact that she, **apparently** , makes me look like the worst flirt in the world," Yang said.

"She does," Weiss said, grabbing Blake's hand.

"She's always been awkward with people. When did she become a flirting machine?" Ghira asked.

Blake tried to stop Ruby, but her pregnant wife kept going.

"Oh, she's _always_ been the best flirt. She's just so _cute_ and _sweet_."

Blake flushed and turned to Qrow and Elm, clearly desperate to change the subject.

"When's the wedding?" she asked.

Elm threaded her fingers between Qrow's own, smiling down at him lovingly.

"We were thinking about after we got back to Atlas," she said.

"What?! No! You need to get married soon so we can go without seven crying babies!" Ruby whined.

Qrow and Elm hesitated.

"Seven?!" they asked together.

Ruby grinned and reached over to grab the photos.

"Oh, right! These are our seven little angels," she said.

"You have... seven kids on the way?" Qrow asked slowly.

"Yeah, yeah, but that's _old_ news! Now you two are getting **married**!" Ruby cried, clapping her hands happily.

Elm glanced at Qrow, pulling him closer.

"What do you say? A few months here, see if we're good great aunts and uncles?" she asked.

Qrow took a moment to consider.

"I guess we could help out," he said, winking at Ruby and Yang.

"Then maybe we should get married sooner," Elm said.

Qrow grinned slightly and nodded.

"We might just have to."


	27. Contemplations

Coco paced back and forth in the courtyard out in the back of Beacon. She had a lot on her mind, and had for a week or so now. She hadn't ever considered... marriage until Yang had decided to bring it up during class, thought admittedly the main reason she had mentioned it had probably been to get Coco to shut up.

It didn't matter _why_ she'd said it, apparently, because it still stuck with the fashionista and was causing her to have a mini meltdown out in the courtyard.

Did she want to marry Velvet?

The answer had been obvious. Of _course_ she wanted to marry Velvet!

But was she _ready_ to marry Velvet? She wasn't as adamantly excited as team RWBY had been, but... she could see herself being ready soon. To be honest, when she was younger, she hadn't actually seen herself as the marriage type. She'd been _more_ than happy just to fine different girls to have flings with, and she'd been _very_ good at it! But... well, when she'd met Velvet, everything had changed. Fox and Yatsu could vouch for it too.

_/_

_Coco was leaning against the back of her chair, the front two legs of it off the ground as she balanced precariously with far too much calm._

_Fox had been rude, almost tipping her over on purpose, but she'd been able to survive the attack. Yatsu had vaguely mentioned that she should probably not do that, but she hadn't really paid attention to his warning. She did this sort of thing often, and therefore wasn't concerned about it anymore._

_Velvet, however, stood up from her place on her bed and walked over to Coco. She gently set her hands on the chair and tilted it forward._

_Coco had been about to huff, turning around to tell the rabbit faunus that she was **more** than capable of taking care of herself, but had stopped cold in her tracks when her gaze fell on Velvet._

_The rabbit faunus awkwardly hooked a bit of her hair over her ear, looking down._

_"Don't want you getting hurt. That's dangerous, you know."_

_Normally, Coco would have responded with a "I am dangerous," or "I can take care of myself," or even a "what are you, a teacher?"_

_But this time... she had found herself enraptured, staring at the faunus._

_"I'd hate to see anything happen to you, Coco."_

_Velvet had given her a small smile before heading back to her bed and opening a textbook._

_Coco didn't know how long she stared at the faunus, but she only stopped when Yatsu cleared his throat pointedly, giving her a long look._

_Coco had felt herself flush as she looked away, her composure crumbling for the first time she could remember, but that certainly not the last time that Velvet would cause such a reaction from her._

_/_

_"Coco, just **tell** her," Yatsu said, shaking his head in frustration._

_Coco groaned and threw her head back, letting it fall against her pillows._

_"Tell who what?" Fox asked as he entered the dorm room._

_"Coco needs to tell Velvet she's in love with her."_

_Coco flushed deeply._

_"I'm not in love with her!"_

_Fox scoffed._

_"Please, Coco! Yesterday you were whining about how she's the only girl you've actually wanted to have more than a good time with! You said you just want to **be around** her! You're totally head over heels for her. That's okay."_

_Coco groaned and reached one hand up to run it over her face, jostling her sunglasses._

_"I'm not in love with her, Fox! It's just a crush! It'll go away!" Coco cried._

_"Okay but let's be real, have you ever **had** a crush that was more than 'damn she's hot?' Because in the time I've known you, you've only looked at one girl the way you look at Velvet," Fox replied._

_Coco side eyed him._

_"Fox, first of all, you literally **can't** see the way I look at Velvet, you're blind. Second of all, I always have on sunglasses, so **nobody** can see how I look at her."_

_"Oh, I can **definitely** tell how you look at Velvet. It's all 'oh please spare me cupid! You've already speared me in the heart a dozen times over, I get the dust damn message!'"_

_Coco looked to Yatsu for help, but he had a small smirk on his face._

_"That's **not** how I look at her."_

_"Fine! Maybe I **can't** see how you look at her, but I can definitely hear how you talk to her. Did you know you have a completely different voice for her? It's like an octave higher and way sweeter. Like do you practice how you want to talk to her in the shower? Is it like 'tehe, oh, Velvet, you're so funny, please kiss me now!'"_

_Coco flushed and threw a pillow at his face, which Fox caught._

_"I'm legitimately asking."_

_"Of course I don't!" Coco snapped._

_"I thought I heard it the other day," Yatsu said._

_Fox burst out laughing while Coco glared at her teammates._

_"I did **not**!" she cried._

_"Did not what?" Velvet asked as she opened the door, giving her teammates that sweet smile that was half awkward and half comforting._

_Coco scrambled to put her sunglasses back in place and give Velvet what she hoped was a charming smile._

_"Nothing important, Velvs."_

_"She calls her Velvs," Fox hissed to Yatsu._

_Velvet glanced at their teammates before her gaze fell on Coco again._

_"If you need anything, you know you just have to ask, right?" she said quietly._

_Coco nodded, glad she had on her sunglasses, because otherwise her eyes would have betrayed how flustered she felt. They were wide and filled with a mixture of shock and fondness._

_"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I know," Coco said._

_To the side, Fox smirked and put a hand to his throat before making a gesture that seemed to mean up._

_**Your voice went up** , he was saying._

_Coco growled at him and hoped he got the message._

_/_

Coco smiled fondly at the memory, reaching one hand up to pull off her glasses so that she could rub her face.

She let out a sigh, considering taking off her hat so that she could run a hand through her hair in frustration (or maybe throw her hat on the ground like she'd seen in cartoons growing up).

Before she had the chance to do either, the door to the courtyard opened, and a small faunus stuck her head out.

"Hey, Coco. Are you alright?" she asked.

That sweet, caring smile that Velvet offered had been what had let Coco know she was a goner in their first year.

"Yeah. I'm good."

Coco supposed she was still a goner, considering the idea of marriage was _definitely_ not a stifling one anymore.


	28. Step By Step

"Okay. Step two," Blake muttered to herself. "Step two... Yang, we definitely need more food. They aren't eating for two, they're eating for four and five."

Yang nodded, reaching out to grab the keys to Taiyang's car. But her father reached in and snatched them up first.

"Hey, take care of your wife, kiddo. Qrow and I can go. Besides, I need to get all the details on the wedding anyways, because I **assume** I'm best man."

Taiyang slung and arm around Qrow's shoulders, making him roll his eyes, and the two headed to the front door.

Blake thanked them distractedly

"Step three. I've been thinking, and I know that you said Sun could be the godfather, but that seems like a _lot_ of responsibility for one guy. I mean, there's seven of them now, Yang. _Seven_!" Blake cried.

Yang reached forward to put her hand on Blake's shoulder, trying to calm her down.

"I know. We just went over that about ten seconds ago. There _are_ seven kids."

"So I was thinking that there should be more than one godfather, or maybe godmothers. I don't know, but it seems unfair to make him godfather to seven, _seven_ , Yang, instead of two."

"Okay, Kit-Kat, I love you, but you _have_ to stop saying the word seven like that. Seriously. And I guess we could think about having a second godparent, but Sun was _really_ excited, and I think he'd be great at it!" Yang said.

Blake nodded with a slightly distracted expression.

"Maybe we should have four or five godparents. That sounds good, right?" she asked.

Yang glanced at Weiss and Ruby for help, but the former heiress held up her hands as if to say "that's your problem, I'm carrying four kids, you can figure this out."

Yang rolled her eyes and turned back to Blake.

"How about we put a pin in that and talk to Sun about it tomorrow, okay? After school when they come over. Does that sound good?"

Blake nodded, grabbing a piece of paper and starting to scribble notes on it.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Good idea. Now for step four, we have to buy five, _five_ , Yang, new cribs, but I don't know if they'll all fit in the nursery room. Yang, I need you to check the size of the room," the cat faunus tossed her a tape measure that Yang had _no_ idea where she had gotten it from, "and tell me so I can figure this out."

Yang nodded slowly.

"What did I say about saying numbers like that, by the way?"

"You said I couldn't say seven like that."

"From now on, I mean **all** numbers," Yang replied as she hurried out of the kitchen to the nursery.

"If seven cribs don't fit, maybe we could do bunk cribs! You know, like when we were back at Beacon, but with cribs!" Ruby cried.

Blake and Weiss both stared at her.

"Ruby, that causes serious fall risk and I really don't want to wake up after having a nightmare about that, so please never offer that idea again," Blake said, going back to her paper.

"What are you even writing?" Weiss asked.

"A to-do list, Weiss. We need to start somewhere!"

Yang came racing back into the room, skidding to a stop.

"Fourteen by sixteen feet!" she called.

Blake wrote the numbers down and pulled her scroll out of her pocket.

"The average size of a small crib is thirty-eight by twenty-four inches," she said, almost to herself, "and the ones that Ren made fit those standards, I checked earlier. So if we want to have seven in one room with a foot of space in between each one... sixteen times twelve to convert to inches minus thirty-six divided by thirty-eight equals just a little over four... then fourteen times twelve divided buy twenty-four..."

Blake looked up at her utterly confused wives and grinned.

"That's it! There's enough room! _More_ than enough room for seven cribs, actually."

Blake flipped the paper over and slammed it on the table.

"Uh... what?" Ruby asked, staring at Blake with utter confusion.

"Everything's going to be perfectly fine, Sugar," Blake said comfortingly as she started to write down something else.

"I think the next important step is to baby proof the house! I know they're not coming for a while, but it's still important with seven little rascals that'll be running around. We might forget later too. Yang, I need you to do everything I wrote on this list," Blake said, sliding the paper over to her.

Yang took the paper and stared at it.

"Is this even English?" she asked.

Blake glared at her.

"Of course it's English!" she said, waving her hand dismissively.

Kali stepped up and took the paper from Yang.

"Have you never seen her like this?" she whispered.

Yang shook her head and stared at her wife numbly.

"She gets this way when she's overwhelmed and trying to concentrate. It's best just to do what she tells you, because it's usually right. Now how about you let me help you baby proof the house?" Kali asked.

Yang nodded and turned to follow Blake's mother out of the room with a look similar to that of a lost puppy.

Blake didn't seem to notice.

"Ruby, Weiss, you've been sitting down for almost half an hour, and it's bad for pregnant women to be stationary or on their feet for too long. How about you two come outside with me and have a nice walk in the backyard for a few minutes?"

Blake said it like a question, but it really wasn't considering she stood and ushered her wives out the back door.

"Blakey, are you okay?" Ruby asked worriedly, slipping her hand into Blake's. The faunus flinched slightly, looking up.

"What? Oh, yes, of course! I'm perfectly fine. Excuse me for a second, I need to make a call."

Blake reached for her scroll, but Weiss slapped her hand and raised her hands to grab Blake by the face, pulling her wife down so that they were eye to eye.

"Blake, I need you to listen to me and listen good."

The faunus blinked in confusion, as if she wasn't quite sure what was happening, but nodded anyways.

"Calm. The. Fuck. Down."

Blake stared at her.

"We're barely a month and a half pregnant. Calm down. You don't need to worry about _everything_ at once."

Blake started to pull away, but Weiss reached her hand up to slap the faunus in the face. It wasn't a strong hit, but it still shocked Blake, making her blink several times.

"Calm. Down. _Now_."

Blake slowly nodded before a smile spread across her face.

"You're right," she paused to laugh, "I might be going a bit overboard. This is important, but... maybe I can go a _bit_ slower."

"You might want to tell Yang that before she continues baby proofing the whole house," Ruby said.

Blake's eyes widened.

"Dust," she muttered. Blake paused to lean down and give Weiss a quick kiss before racing out of the backyard and throwing the back door open. "YANG!" she called.

Weiss and Ruby watched her go.

"I love her, I swear I do, but... dust, that woman...," Weiss muttered.

Ruby giggled and grabbed Weiss' hand.

"That's _everyone_ you love, Angel."

"Fair."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blake panicking is honestly kinda based on me when I'm in the zone getting ready for things.


	29. The Call

Blake let out a long breath and fell into Yang's arms.

"Sorry I made you baby proof the entire house."

"It's alright. That's a good thing, right? They'll be safe later," Yang said, pulling her closer.

Blake let out a sigh, relaxing slightly as Yang started to stroke her head.

"And I'm sorry for sending your dad out to the grocery store to buy way too much food and baby things."

"You mean so much food that it filled the entirety of the back of the car?" Yang asked.

"Yes. That's what I said."

"No, you said way too much food, not _so much food that it weighs more than the four of us combined_."

Blake rolled her eyes.

"Do you know how much babies eat?" the faunus asked.

"How much?" Yang humored her.

"No, seriously, I don't know. There's no way Weiss and Ruby will be able to feed all of them naturally, which is what I read was the best for development, but there _seven_ of them!"

"Stop saying seven like that! And you're kind of right. There's no way that they could feed all of them. Weiss is a _tiny person_ , Kit-Kat! There's no way she has enough of her to feed four babies!" Yang said, suddenly glancing across the room at where Weiss and Ruby were being held captive by Blake's parents, who were asking so many questions. So, _so_ many questions.

"They're **both** tiny, Yang! I don't know how they'd survive that!" Blake hissed, wrapping her arms around Yang's waist and burying her face in her hair.

"They're both so tiny," Yang agreed.

"And so are the babies!" Blake hissed, letting out a sigh as she pulled closer. "They're so, so tiny. And fragile. Dust, it's so stressful."

"You seriously need to just calm down," Yang said, picking Blake up and making her squeal in shock.

Yang set the faunus on the counter and leaned forward.

"I know that you're going to be freaking out until they're born, but can you just _try_ to be a little calmer?"

"I'll try," Blake said, letting her head fall forward and hit Yang in the shoulder.

"Ow," the blond muttered.

"You're fine," Blake muttered.

Just then, her scroll rang and she reached into her pocket to grab it.

"Hello?"

"Is Yang there? I kind of need to talk to both of you."

"Coco?!"

"Yeah, it's me. Why are you surprised? You have my number. Do you not read caller ID?"

"I do, I do, but... there's a _lot_ going on right now. Can this wait?" Blake asked, knowing that there was a pleading in her voice.

"Uh, no, it really can't. I'm kind of freaking out, actually."

"Me too. Thinking about life, the future, the number I'm forbidden from speaking."

"What? Never mind, explain that later. I seriously need to talk," Coco said.

Blake glanced up at Yang, who she soon realized hadn't heard a thing. Stupid human hearing.

"Do you always hold the scroll up to your human ear or do you do the cat ear sometimes?" Yang asked.

Blake glared at her.

"Is it really that important? I kind of have my hands full," Blake said.

"Yeah, it's pretty important, Blake!" Coco said.

Blake frowned, raising an eyebrow. She'd never heard Coco sound almost _panicked_ before, but there was a first time for everything. Including having kids. Oh, so many kids. _Seven_.

"Uh, okay. Okay, fine."

Blake pushed Yang back and hopped off of the counter and pulled the blond out of the room, pulling Coco on speaker.

"What is it, Coco?" Blake asked, rubbing at her temple.

"How do you propose to someone?!"

There was a beat of silence before Yang burst out laughing.

"Is this because of what I said about Velvet the other day?" she asked.

Blake glanced at her.

"Did you give her an idea? Yang, you _know_ not to give people ideas! Especially our friends!" Blake hissed.

Yang rolled her eyes and leaned against her wife.

"This is _not_ my fault, and it's _not_ a bad thing! Coco, make sure you propose soon. You're never going to do better than her. Or as good as her. Or half as good as her. Lock this girl _down_. That's what Rubes and I did!"

Blake glanced at Yang, who gave her a smirk and a wink.

"That's _not_ why you get married, Coco."

"No, no, the reason you get married is because of love, but all three of us know that," Yang said, waving her hand dismissively.

Blake stared at her for a moment, raising an eyebrow.

"Coco, if you want to get married, just ask her," Blake said. "Get a nice lunch or dinner or go somewhere that you both like."

"Shouldn't Yang give advice? She's the one that proposed," Coco said. "Because she's mentioned that about fifty times."

"Yeah, but Blake's the romantic one. Actually, wait, call Sun. Blake might be the flirtatious one, but Sun's the lesbro, so maybe he'd be the best bet."

"Yang, don't make me call him, I'm already freaking out!" Coco snapped.

"Why are you so scared? Just buy an engagement ring and ask her," Yang said, shrugging almost as if Coco could see her.

Coco sighed into the scroll.

"Right. You're right. Thanks for calming me down," she said. "So what's so wrong over there? You aren't coming in tomorrow, right? What's wrong?"

"Well...," Blake glanced at Yang in an attempt to remember what they were supposed to say. They weren't mistakes, but, "there were a lot of... surprises. We'll talk about it more tomorrow when you all come over. But I _really_ gotta go, sorry!"

Blake hung up the phone and let out a groan.

"How did she think _that_ was an emergency?" Blake asked.

"She's a drama queen, you know this," Yang replied.

Blake snickered.

"Getting married is stressful? Proposing? Dust, try seven kids."

"Oh, just think about that! If we're having _seven_ , how many do you think a rabbit faunus would have?" Yang asked.

Blake tried to glare at her for the joke, but instead found herself laughing.

"Did you just not call me racist for that?" Yang asked.

Blake kept laughing.

"I'm just so tired," the faunus said, falling against her side with a sigh, shaking her head in frustration.

"I know, I know," Yang said. "You seriously need to get better sleep!"

"But I'm just so worried they're going to roll onto their stomachs!" Blake groaned, letting out a sigh.

"They won't! Dust, you might as well be chaining them to the bed while they sleep!" 

Yang started laughing, but Blake didn't, which caused her eyes to widen.

"Don't actually think about it!" Yang cried, causing Blake to jump out of her haze.

"I'm not!"

"You were!"

"Okay, maybe for just a second," Blake replied with a small smile.

"You shouldn't have thought about it at all!" Yang cried.

"I just need a little while to think. And sleep. But there's no time! There will **never** be time again!" Blake cried.

Yang grabbed Blake around the waist and lifted her into the air.

"That's it. Get some sleep."

Blake struggled weakly.

"Okay," the faunus finally said.

"It's not too early for bed."

"It's only ten."

"That's ten hours too late for you to be asleep," Yang said.

Blake grumbled and seemed to already be asleep in her arms.


	30. Overwhelming

Blake awoke to the sound of vomiting, as she found herself doing more often than not as of late.

"Yang, which one is it?" she grumbled, pulling closer.

"Both? I think both."

"I don't wanna get up," Blake grumbled.

Yang reached her hand out to grab something off the bedside table.

"Blake, open your eyes."

Blake grumbled and peeked through one eye.

Then, Yang spoke, her pitch several octaves higher.

"Mom! Wake up!" she said, wiggling the two ultrasound photos in front of her wife's face. "Get up and make breakfast so momma doesn't have to!"

Blake stared at her wife with a small glare.

"You can't manipulate me with that photograph," Blake said.

Yang raised an eyebrow and the faunus reluctantly got up, mumbling to herself the whole time.

"If I'm making breakfast, then you have to respond to Coco's panicked messages."

Yang's eyes widened as Blake tossed her scroll at her.

"Wait a second, I need to think about which option I want!" Yang called after her.

"Too late!" Blake cried, closing the bedroom door behind her. A moment later, her head poked into the bedroom again, the faunus smirking at her. "You also have to deal with grumpy Weiss."

"Wait!" Yang called, reaching her mechanical hand out toward the door as it shut again.

She swore she could hear Blake snickering outside of the bedroom.

The faunus hurried to make breakfast, throwing together vitamins, protein cookies, and fruit into a bowl and pouring some milk.

Ruby stepped into the room, her hair a mess, and Blake reached into the pocket on the jacket she'd just thrown on.

"Have a seat, Sugar. Do you need some mouthwash?"

"Already had it," Ruby grumbled tiredly.

"Good, good. Have a seat, woman who's carrying three beautiful children," Blake said.

Ruby raised an eyebrow and scoffed as Blake pulled the hairbrush out of her pocket, starting to run it through her wife's messy hair.

"That's sweet, Blakey," Ruby said. Weiss and Yang walked into the room as Ruby started to eat her breakfast.

"Of course, Sugar," Blake said.

A very irate Weiss glanced at Ruby.

"Is she doing it again?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, but it's sweet," Ruby said, leaning back as Blake continued to help her clear up.

"What?" Blake asked, grabbing onto Ruby's shoulder gently.

"You're being way too nice, Blake. Makes it impossible for us to complain!" Weiss snapped.

Yang stared at the faunus, the two panicking.

"Wait... so I'm... being too good, and that's... bad?" Blake asked slowly.

Weiss growled while Ruby winced.

"Well, it's not bad, but-"

"When I complained about my feet hurting the other day," Weiss said, "you spent an hour online trying to find a pair of shoes that would work better for pregnant women."

"Is that... bad?" Blake asked, glancing between Ruby and Yang.

"Yes!" Weiss cried.

"Then... what can I do better?" Blake continued, grabbing onto Weiss' hand in her own.

Weiss groaned and let her head fall against the table with a muted _thud_.

"I told you it wouldn't work," the former heiress said.

Ruby nodded sagely and reached out to pat Blake on the shoulder.

"Sometimes, when people complain about things, you really can't fix them. And when that happens, you just say 'wow, that's awful!' or 'I wish I could do something to help!'" Ruby said.

"But what if I _could_ do something to help?" Blake asked.

"That's not the _point_ , Blake!" Weiss snapped, rolling her head to the side so she could see the faunus.

"So instead of fixing the problem, you just want me to listen to you talk about it? That... makes no sense."

"Well get used to it! Combined, your wives are pregnant with _seven_ children!" Yang rolled her eyes at the emphasis on the word seven. "So of course we don't make any sense! We're going to say crazy things that you don't know how to deal with, and it's your job to just deal with it!"

Blake nodded quickly.

"You're right. I'm sorry," she said, coming up behind Weiss and starting to rub her shoulders.

"And stop treating us like children! You're going to have more than enough of those in a few months anyways!" Weiss cried.

Blake hesitated and glanced at Ruby, who nodded emphatically.

Yang burst out laughing and leaned forward against the counter to stop herself from keeling over.

"Little miss perfect flirt and mother-to-be is getting in trouble instead of me for once!" Yang cried, shaking her head.

Weiss turned around, slapping at Blake's hands that tried to continue rubbing her shoulders, and grabbed the faunus' face in both her hands.

"You need to just realize that what's happening is out of your control. There's nothing you can do about me having to puke my guts out every morning, Blake. I'm a month and a half pregnant with four kids, Blake. You can't just wave your magic wand and make everything perfect!"

Blake frowned and put her hands on top of Weiss' own.

"I don't just want it to be perfect, I want things to be perfect for _you_. I can't _do_ anything, Weiss! You've got four kids in there," Blake vaguely gestured at Weiss' stomach with one hand without removing it from where it held Weiss, "and I'm just having to watch two people I love more than life itself deal with this! I just want to do whatever I can from the outside!"

"You're _not_ on the outside, Blake. You're right here. You're going to be a mom of seven children, and you're going to love it _and_ hate it. And that's okay. And Ruby and I are going to be insanely uncomfortable for the next few months, and there's nothing _anyone_ can do to fix it, and that's okay too."

Blake huffed and let her eyes fall shut, causing a tear to roll down her cheek.

"I just feel like everything's out of my control now, and I just want to be able to do _something_ to help."

"Blakey," Ruby began, reaching over to run a hand down the faunus' arm gently, "you _are_ doing something. You're doing _so_ much. Some would argue that you're doing **too** much. So just take a step back."

Blake nodded slowly, letting her eyes open again, and gave Weiss a small smile.

"I'm sorry that you threw up your body weight over the past week."

Weiss laughed.

"And I'm sorry that you're carrying four children even though you're basically still the size of a teenager."

Weiss slapped her arm.

"And I'm sorry that I've been overbearing and will probably continue to be for the next few months. But I'll try to be better."

Weiss rolled her eyes, leaning forward to give her a chaste kiss.

"I guess I could forgive you... if you stop force feeding me vitamins."

"No can do, Ice Queen," Blake said.

Weiss scoffed, pulling back and crossing her arms.

"Why didn't I marry some bum that would let me eat my damn waffles with ranch dressing?"

"Because that," Blake leaned forward and raised her hand, tapping one finger against the former heiress' nose, "would be a bad parent and a bad spouse, neither of which are acceptable. Now eat your orange."

"Will you let me complain this time without listing out facts about why it's important for me to eat fruit?" Weiss asked.

"I promise."

Weiss raised a skeptical eyebrow, which made Blake laugh.

"What do you take me for? Some liar? A criminal, even?" the faunus asked.

"Maybe. After all, I don't even know you _that_ well. Weren't you a former member of the white fang?" Weiss asked playfully.

"Dust, you join a terrorist organization _one time_ , and your wives never let it go," Blake said.

"Normal people don't even think about joining terrorist organizations!" Weiss called, smirking as she took a bite of an apple (then grimacing and immediately regretting her choice in food when she tasted it, remembering that she'd probably had at least twelve of those apples in the last week alone).

"Are you implying that faunus aren't normal people? Because I find that racist," Blake said, taking a seat beside her.

"Dust, you faunus are always so sensitive. It's like humans try to exterminate your race one time and you never let it go," Yang added in, hopping onto the counter to sit down.

"Weirdly enough, that's something a group of people tend to remember," Blake said, laughing as Ruby started to push her off of her seat.

"Blakey, that's where _I_ was sitting," she whined.

Blake grabbed her around the waist and pulled Ruby into her lap.

"That better?" the faunus asked.

" **Much**."

Yang gagged, causing her sister to stick her tongue out at her.

"You're just jealous."

"I don't need to be jealous," Yang replied, reaching out to caress Blake's shoulder gently.

The faunus was about to respond when Kali walked into the kitchen.

Blake's first instinct was to throw Ruby out of her lap, but she had to put that idea on pause considering the other girl was _pregnant._

Blake watched her mother warily, but Kali just smiled at them.

"You four feeling better?"

"Much," Ruby said, leaning back against Blake as she grabbed a bit of her protein cookies. Yang quietly snickered, causing Blake to slap her on the leg and give her a warning look.

Yang had almost revealed the secret about those cookies on ten separate occasions, and Blake was getting more and more worried that she would and cause a big argument between all four of them. Well, not exactly an argument, but a lot of whining on Ruby's part.

"Blakey, what time is it?" Ruby asked.

"Uh...," she reached out to steal her scroll back from Yang. "It's... oh dust it's already after noon."

"That's alright, we don't have to work today," Yang said comfortingly.

"Yeah, I know, but that means that they're going to be here soon," Blake said.

"Who?" Kali asked.

"Our friends," Blake replied, though she didn't sound as excited as most people did when they said that sentance.

"Can we get out of having to talk to them because we're pregnant?" Ruby asked. Weiss glanced over at her wives at the words, raising an eyebrow in intrigue.

"No way, Rubes," Yang replied, rolling her eyes. "I'm not dealing with an excited Penny without you!"

Ruby shook her head and leaned further against Blake, looking up at her with the puppy eyes.

"No way. No puppy eyes. Not working this time. You just told me to not baby you two, and I'm listening to your request. No more babying, which means no more exceptions."

Ruby's eyes darted to Weiss.

"I think we made a mistake," Ruby whispered.

Weiss nodded in agreement, making Yang laugh.

"How long do we have before they get here?" Yang asked.

"Three and a half hours."

Weiss groaned and let her head fall onto the counter again.

Ruby reached over to pat her on the shoulder gently.

"I thought you all were close," Kali said.

"We are," Blake said, "but they can be..."

"Intrusive?" Ruby offered.

"Abrasive?" Weiss suggested.

"Frustrating?" Yang asked.

"I was going to go with overwhelming, but... yeah, they can be a lot. And they're going to have... very strong reactions to the babies," Blake said.

-

Nora hesitated, looking up and frowning in confusion.

"Something wrong?" Pyrrha asked.

"I feel like something important's about to happen... and that I was insulted."


	31. Celebrations

Blake grabbed the ultrasound photos and stared at them.

Ruby reached up and grabbed Blake's hand.

"Don't tell me you're going to be one of those people that talks to the babies before they're born," Ruby said.

Blake stared at her.

"Dust, you are, aren't you?"

Blake silently nodded.

Ruby rolled her eyes and moved closer to Weiss.

"You're not talking to my stomach," the former heiress said.

"I won't be. I'm going to talk to the babies," Blake replied, running her hand along the two photos reverently.

"Yeah but you'll be screaming at my stomach," Weiss said.

"Not screaming, that would be shocking to them, especially since Adolpha has faunus ears," Blake said distractedly.

Ruby and Weiss shared a look.

"Normal babies can hear the outside world as young as sixteen weeks, but ours should be able to at fourteen," Blake said as she glanced at her scroll for the time.

"Dust, she's serious about this," Weiss muttered.

"Do you know how many times I've heard Blake talk about that?" Yang asked suddenly. "The other night when you two were asleep she started talking to Rubes' stomach. Creepy."

Blake waved her hand dismissively.

"It's not important."

"I think that's incredibly important," Weiss said, rolling her eyes at the faunus.

"What's more important is that in half an hour all of our crazy friends are going to burst through that door demanding information," Blake said.

"She's right," Ruby said, leaning against Weiss gently.

The former heiress grimaced and shook her head.

"Don't worry, I won't let Penny tackle you, Rubes," Blake said distantly, sending a message on her scroll before staring at the ultrasound pictures again.

"Should we take those away from her?" Yang whispered.

Blake's ear twitched and she pulled the pictures back defensively.

"This is the only reason I'm not insane yet."

"You're not?" Yang asked Blake.

The faunus gave her a look of frustration before returning to her scroll.

"Who are you even messaging?" Yang asked.

"Coco."

"Is she still freaking out?"

Blake nodded, rolling her eyes.

"I swear, I don't know how this woman ever thought of herself as a lady killer if she couldn't handle this."

"Handle what?" Ruby asked.

"Asking Velvet to marry her," Blake replied.

Weiss paused, glancing at the faunus.

"She's asking her to marry her?" she asked.

Blake nodded absently.

"Yeah, something about a romantic epiphany, finally wanting to settle down, Yang making a joke," Blake shrugged and put her scroll down.

Weiss frowned and started to tap her foot against the ground.

"When's she going to propose?" she asked.

"Who knows. She hasn't even gotten a ring yet," Blake replied.

Weiss considered for a moment before nodding slowly.

Blake glanced at her and raised an eyebrow.

"You jealous or something? Thought you were happy enough with three wives, do you need a fourth?" she asked, chuckling.

Weiss scoffed.

"Yes, I need a fourth wife, obviously. That's why I'm so committed to you three, carrying four little monsters that make me puke constantly," Weiss said.

"You know, maybe we _should_ tap a fifth. If only so they could help change diapers," Yang said, grinning to herself.

Blake rolled her eyes sufferingly.

"Speaking of, we seriously need to learn how to do that, because that's going to be _a lot_ of diaper changes," the faunus said.

"If I'm giving birth to four children I'm not going to be the one to change their diapers," Weiss said.

"You're still a parent," Blake said distractedly and turned to Yang.

"You are going to need to learn though because you're the only one not busy right now."

"Does that mean I'm the designated diaper changer?" Yang asked with a chuckle.

Blake shrugged.

"Sure, why not," the faunus said.

The smile on Yang's face fell and she groaned.

"You're kidding me."

"I'm the planner, they're the carriers, and you're the diaper woman now," Blake said, a small smirk growing across her face.

"Just diapers? That's what you think of me?" Yang asked.

"You're right, you're in charge of being baby ready."

Yang frowned in confusion.

"Explain," the blond said.

"I'm way too busy focusing on the pregnancy itself, Weiss and Ruby are pregnant, and that means _someone_ has to think about what will happen after all this," Blake gestured wildly.

"So like diapers and the cribs and baby diet?" Yang asked.

Blake nodded.

"Sun can help you, he already put that whole binder together," Blake said, pointing at the binder, which constantly laid on the counter in what almost looked like a shrine to their pregnancy.

Yang reached out to grab the binder and flipped through it.

"This is going to be a mess," she said.

Blake reached out and patted her on the shoulder.

"Have fun."

"I thought my job was to keep you from freaking out," Yang said.

"And this will help with that greatly," Blake said, reaching forward to slap Ruby's hand as it tried to steal another cookie. Ruby wondered how she had noticed that considering Blake had been simultaneously looking at her scroll and taking notes on a nearby piece of paper.

Yang made a gagging sound.

"Angel, baby, thank you so much for getting pregnant so I don't have to. Dust, that looks like a disgusting process," the blond said.

Weiss glared at her, slapping Yang in the back of her head.

"You're so damn lucky that I love you, because otherwise I'd probably kill you right now," Weiss said, giving her a dark look.

"I love you too," Yang said, smiling at her gently.

"And thank _you_ for offering to change all their diapers so that we don't have to," Weiss continued. 

Yang grimaced and glanced at Blake with a questioning, almost pleading expression. Blake didn't even look up.

"Would you rather have to plan all of the pregnancy?" Blake haphazardly pushed her calendar, notes, and scroll toward Yang.

Yang stared at it all.

"Is this color coded?" she asked.

Blake nodded.

"What do the colors mean?"

Blake shrugged.

"I'm good. I can learn about babies," Yang said, holding up her hands in defeat.

Blake nodded and pulled the papers back.

She flipped her scroll open.

"Yang, schedule an appointment," she said, pushing over some papers that said dates.

Yang snickered.

"Why? I thought you were _so great_ at doing that."

Blake gave her a flat look and the blond sighed, taking the scroll and starting to schedule the next prenatal appointment.

Blake watched her for a moment, a fond smile on her face.

"What are you looking at?" Yang asked, raising an eyebrow with a smirk.

"One of the mothers of my children," she said, relaxing slightly as she put her chin in the palm of her hand.

"You look like Rubes did watching you at Beacon," Yang said.

Blake laughed quietly while Ruby glared at her sister.

"In love?" Blake asked, pushing away the papers and leaning forward more, gaze flickering to Ruby and Weiss, giving them both a wink.

"Aw, there's my little flirty kitty," Ruby said as she looped her arms around the faunus' waist gently.

"It is pretty cute," Weiss replied.

Blake smirked at her, making the former heiress giggle quietly.

Before Blake could continue, there was a knock on the door.

"OPEN UP!" a voice cried.

"Is that the police?!" Taiyang shouted.

Ruby laughed.

"OPEN UP!" Nora screamed again.

"They're early," Yang whispered.

"I should have accounted for that," Blake muttered as she stood, heading toward the door with a small sigh.

She was happy they were so supportive, but they were almost... too much so.

She opened the door and immediately almost tumbled to the ground as Nora threw herself forward, grabbing Blake around the shoulders and starting to shake her.

"Oh my dust! What happened?! Are the babies okay?! If they are can I be Aunt Nora?!"

Yang set a hand on Blake's shoulder while Ren did the same with Nora.

"A lot happened, the babies are perfectly fine, and of course you're Aunt Nora," Blake said, causing her friend to grin excitedly.

Nora **beamed** and started to bounce up and down in excitement.

"Really?!" she cried.

"Of course! You guys have been with us every step of the way! You're all aunts and uncles, whether you like it or not," Yang said, clapping a hand on her wife's shoulder.

"Then why were you all so dramatic? What happened?" Jaune asked.

Blake grimaced and glanced at Ruby and Weiss as they walked into the room.

"Aw, look at them! Those are going to be our little nieces and/or nephews! WAIT! You know the genders! SPILL!" Nora cried, spinning to face Blake. 

The four members of team RWBY glanced at one another.

"We are... definitely having one of each gender," Weiss offered slowly.

"Aw a little baby boy and girl!" Nora cried.

Sun finally burst through the door and threw an arm around Yang's shoulders.

"Oh my dust! This is _amazing_! Show us the ultrasound! Godfather Sun wants to see his godchildren!" the monkey faunus cried.

"There's... something else," Blake said, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly as she leaned against Yang.

"What? What's wrong?!" Sun cried. Their friends all stared at the four nervously.

"Nothing's... wrong," Blake started awkwardly, "but..."

"Dust, Kit-Kat, you should just say it. This is why I have to schedule the appointments," Yang said, rolling her eyes in frustration. She turned to face the rest of them. "There's seven of them."

" _Seven_ ," Ruby reiterated, making Yang glare at her.

"I told you not to say it like that," Yang hissed, making Blake roll her eyes in frustration.

There was a beat of silence.

"Seven what?" Nora asked.

"Babies. There's seven babies," Weiss said.

"Like... in you two?" she asked, gesturing at Ruby and Weiss.

The pair nodded.

"Oh, dust, you guys, are you oka-"

Pyrrha was cut off by Nora, who squealed at the top of her lungs.

"Seven! Seven little cutie cutie baby wabies!" Nora screamed, darting toward Ruby and Weiss and reaching forward to put a hand on their stomachs.

Blake threw herself in front of the pair, tackling Nora to the ground and making her squeal.

"Blake, what's your problem?!" Jaune cried, helping Nora to her feet while Yang picked up the cat faunus gently.

"The babies must be protected, apparently," Yang said, making Blake roll her eyes.

Sun's eyes widened dramatically.

"Oh my dust. I have seven godchildren," he breathed.

"Don't worry, Sun, we're thinking that we're going to have several-"

Sun's tail started wagging in excitement.

"Oh my dust! Okay, okay! Weiss, Ruby, have a seat, prop up your feet, don't over exert yourself."

Blake's eyes became a bit dazed and she stared at Sun.

"Sun," she said, making him turn with a confused look on his face.

"Are you okay? Do you need something to help you calm down?" he asked.

Blake took a step forward and put a hand on his shoulder.

"If I weren't married to the three loves of my life, and apparently very gay, I would so make out with you right this moment, because that's the hottest thing you've ever said," she whispered.

Sun stared down at her.

Weiss growled and grabbed Blake around the waist and pulled her backwards into her arms. Meanwhile, Ilia glared at Blake and tugged Sun back by the tail, leaning against him when he was near her.

"You had your chance, Blake," Sun said with a wink and a playful grin. "I'm taken now!"

To punctuate the sentence, Pyrrha wrapped her arm around Sun's shoulders and set her hand on Ilia's head.

Weiss glared at the three.

"Don't worry, Weiss, I love you three, and I'd never leave you," Blake said. "I'm just saying that, in a hypothetical universe where I never met you three and was less gay, then maybe I would have kissed him for saying that."

Weiss shifted her glare to Blake, who sighed, leaning down to give her a kiss.

Weiss leaned against her, letting out a huff.

Just then, there was a loud, collective sigh from the group of teachers in front of her.

"Weiss... you're telling me that the four of you are about to have seven children?" Winter asked slowly.

Weiss nodded.

Winter fell against Penny's side limply, eyes wide and yet seeming to look through Weiss.

"Dear dust," she breathed.

"That's pretty much how Blake reacted," Yang said, grinning.

Blake rolled her eyes and wrapped an arm around Weiss' shoulders, pulling her closer.

"Show us the ultrasound!" Nora squealed.

Blake scrambled and grabbed the photos, holding up the pictures with a crowd smile.

"Yeah! Those are our kids! We **made** them!" Yang said excitedly, gesturing at the two photos smugly.

"That was implied," Weiss told her, raising an eyebrow.

"Let me be proud of my children," Yang said.

"They haven't even been born," Weiss pointed out.

"But they're still so perfect! Yes they are, yes they are!" Yang said, voice shifting into baby talk with a small smile.

Weiss slapped Yang's hand as it went to touch her stomach.

"I thought we agreed not until week fourteen. And no baby talk, it's weird," Weiss said.

Blake laughed and leaned against Weiss further.

"Aw, they're so cute!" Nora cried as she looked at the ultrasounds. "And you _named_ them?!"

At the words, the rest of their friends burst out of their stupors and raced toward them with wide grins and different questions.

Team RWBY had a collective sigh, but smiled fondly as their friends started to talk.


	32. Godparents

Sun's tail slowly stopped wagging.

"So I'm _not_ the godfather?" he asked.

"You are, you are!" Yang comforted. "Just... maybe not all seven because godfathers have to do a lot, so... maybe you can just pick one or two and then maybe someone else here could think about being a godfather or godmother-"

Several hands shot into the air in excitement, including Nora who started to bounce up and down in enthusiasm.

Sun reached forward and stole the photos from Yang, looking at the seven babies.

"Dibs!" he said, pulling a pen out of Blake's pocket with his tail and writing his name next to Aella. "Her little ears are so cute."

"Move it, monkey boy," Nora said, elbowing him out of the way and grabbing the pen. "Mind if I take one?"

Yang grinned at her, handing over the photo.

Nora glanced at Ruby, Weiss, and Blake, who all seemed to give her encouraging looks.

"Uh, maybe you, Jaune, and Ren could take one," Blake offered.

Nora nodded happily.

"We're gonna take this little baby!" she said, writing her name next to Akio.

Winter slid her hand into Penny's, raising an eyebrow.

"I thought you didn't want to take any big steps, Girlfriend Winter," Penny said.

Winter held in a sigh, rolling her eyes.

"That's not _exactly_ what I said, Penny."

"Then would you like to become a godmother with me?" she asked.

Winter gave her a fond smile before pulling her girlfriend forward.

"Which one would you like?" Yang asked.

"Why am I getting the weird feeling that we're selling them off like puppies?" Weiss whispered.

"Because you're just a tad bit racist, Angel," Blake said.

Weiss glared at her.

"If I'm so racist then why did I marry you, you insufferable woman?"

"Because even racists are swayed by my flirting. Look at Yang!"

Yang glanced back, giving Blake an eye roll.

Winter snatched the pen out of Nora's hand and wrote her and Penny's name next to Crystal.

"Picking a faunus? That's very progressive of you, sister," Weiss said with a small smirk.

Winter gave her a small glare.

"If you four wouldn't mind, I'd be more than honored to be a godmother to one of your children," Pyrrha said.

Blake beamed at her and passed over the ultrasound photo.

"Mind if I pick this one?" she asked.

"Go ahead!" Yang said happily.

Next to Adolpha's name, Pyrrha wrote her own.

"Would you like to be a godmother, Ilia?" Blake asked.

The chameleon faunus glanced at Sun, and the two shared a secretive smile before they both burst out laughing together.

"What's so funny?" Blake asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"It's just... both of us had feelings for you once, and now we're _dating_ and talking about being the godparents to your children," Sun said with a grin. Ilia nodded and leaned against his side, taking the pen from Pyrrha.

Beside Lavey's name, she wrote her own with a fond expression on her face.

"How about you two?" Yang asked, elbowing Coco.

Coco glared at her behind her glasses, but Yang could tell.

Velvet smiled at Coco, grabbing her on the arm and leaning closer.

"What do you think, babe?" Velvet asked.

Coco stared down at her, once again glad that she had her sunglasses so that Velvet couldn't see the way she looked at her.

"We could if you want to, Velvs."

Behind them, Fox and Yatsu both rolled their eyes.

Velvet beamed up at her and led her forward to look at the photos.

"How about this one?" the faunus offered, pointing at one of the babies.

"Yeah. That sounds great," Coco said, though she barely looked at the photograph.

Velvet wrote their names next to Jin.

"Who wants the last one?" Yang asked, waving the photo in the air above her head haphazardly.

Neo smirked, and Yang pulled the photos back to her chest.

_'We're the only ones left, blondie.'_

Yang took a step back and Blake grabbed her around the waist gently.

"They _are_ the only two left," the faunus whispered.

"And Ciel would make sure Neo didn't do anything wrong," Weiss added.

"Dear dust," Blake muttered. "We're considering it."

"We've considered," Ruby said for her, laughing as she put a hand on Blake's waist.

Neo gave them finger guns and a wink.

_'If you think about it, we're a more reliable couple than the other ones you've picked, considering we're married.'_

Ciel glanced at Neo as she raised her hand up. Ciel rolled her eyes before high fiving her wife.

"Friend Ciel, you do high fives now?!" Penny hissed.

 _'Only when it's her wife, Pen,'_ Neo signed.

Ciel rolled her eyes and took the pen, putting their names beside Auburn.

"This went better than expected," Blake said.

"I just have one question," Nora said. "What's a godparent?"

There was a chorus of agreements.


	33. Discussions

Blake rolled her eyes.

"Normally, godparents help children through life, mentor them some, and even take care of them in case the parents die."

Several of their friends stared at Blake with wide eyes at the words.

"But... what we were hoping is that maybe you would be willing to help out with-"

"Yes!" Nora cried, bouncing up and down enthusiastically.

There was a chorus of agreement, but Ren wandered out of the room.

"What's... what's he doing?" Weiss asked Nora.

"Oh, he's just going to look at the nursery, probably," Nora continued, smiling at her.

Blake glanced over her shoulder and saw Ren close the door to the nursery.

"What? Why?" the faunus asked as she moved back toward the room.

"Probably to look at the cribs," Jaune said.

"Why?" Yang asked.

"Because there's not enough," Nora said.

Blake waved for Yang to be silent and moved forward.

"Are you all sure?" she asked quietly.

"Of course we're sure, Blake," Pyrrha responded.

"Heck yeah! Babies are super cute!" Nora cried. Jaune elbowed her. "And we care about you!"

Blake chuckled.

 _'Plus, if we have children, you'll owe us,'_ Neo signed.

Ciel glanced at her, and Neo shot her a wink, causing Ciel to let out a long sigh.

"That's _definitely_ a conversation for later," she said, "but she's right on one part of this. We're here for you. We'll always be here for you."

Penny nodded enthusiastically, clapping her hands together. Winter put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, shaking her head fondly, letting out a quiet chuckle. Weiss raised an eyebrow at that, giving her sister a pointed look that Winter ignored.

"Of course we'll be here to help you with your little babies, Friends!" she said, racing toward Ruby.

Blake was about to throw herself in front of her wife, but Penny skidded to a stop right before she tackled Ruby, instead reaching her hands out to pull Ruby in for a hug.

Blake stiffened, but Yang set a hand on her shoulder. Penny just let out a laugh and let her head fall on top of Ruby's shoulder with surprising gentleness.

Weiss smirked and glanced at her sister.

"Did you teach her that?" she whispered.

Winter's eyebrows furrowed in confusion for a moment before she flushed, glaring at her little sister darkly.

Weiss just smirked and leaned back against Blake's side.

"That was surprisingly gentle of you, Penny. You'll be a very good godmother if you keep that up," the former heiress said.

Penny pulled back and gave her best smile, eyes darting to Winter before she rushed to her girlfriend's side.

"She said I'd be a good godmother, Girlfriend Winter!" she whisper yelled, leaning up on the tips of her toes so that they were closer.

"I heard, Penny," she replied fondly, but her eyes flashed to their friends for a moment. Almost all of them gave her knowing smirks, some of them laughing at Winter's cold facade fading. "And I agree. You'd be very good with children," she leaned closer. "You're amazing."

Penny beamed at her and was about to respond, but Yang clearing her throat caused them to glance over their shoulders at the blond.

"So you're all cool with this?" Yang asked.

"Heck yeah! But Neo's right, you gotta repay us when we have our own children," Nora said.

Jaune seemed like he was about to be sick, and Yang snickered.

"You got it. First baby, I call godmother."

"No way!" Pyrrha cried. "I was their first teammate, I deserve this!"

Ilia threaded her fingers through Pyrrha's own, smiling at the faunus.

Sun threw his arms around Pyrrha's shoulders, and Yang gasped, reaching her hand over to smack Blake's arms several times.

Blake caught her hand to stop her, frowning in confusion.

"Yang, what is it?" she asked.

"Pyrrha has a type!" she cried.

Blake stared at her.

"First of all, literally how? Second of all, is that what's really important right now? Weiss and Ruby are pregnant and we really should be getting ready for the _seven_ babie-"

"Stop saying seven like that! And she _does_ have a type, which is faunus," Yang said.

Pyrrha looked up, frowning.

"That's not true," she said, glancing down at Sun's tail, which was wrapped around her waist. Ilia's scales turned a light shade of pink and looked over at Blake as if pleading with her friend to shut Yang up.

Blake attempted to, but Yang was already laughing way too loud.

Pyrrha grew a contemplative expression and she looked over at her older teammates, hoping that Jaune and Nora would offer her some sort of help.

"She had a crush on Jaune. He's not a faunus," Nora offered. Her eyes suddenly widened. "Oh my dust! Pyrrha! You had a crush on my boyfriend!"

Pyrrha stared at her.

"Yeah... you knew it at the time, Nora."

Ilia held Pyrrha tighter, setting her head on the redhead's shoulder.

"But I didn't put together that you liked my _current boyfriend_!" Nora cried.

Pyrrha shook her head as if shocked that Nora hadn't thought of that before. Jaune seemed shocked as well, but he had a fond smile on his face as he looked at Nora.

Pyrrha took a second to think.

"Oh my dust!" she said. "I have a thing for faunus!"

"But Jaune's not a faunus," Nora said.

"My first boyfriend was, though," Pyrrha said. "And my first crush."

Ilia and Sun both side eyed her with looks of surprise.

"Oh my dust! Is this a Nikos thing?! Like the Schnees all liking the same type of partner!" Yang cried.

Pyrrha shook her head, flushing slightly.

"It's just a coincidence," she said.

"Is it? Or can you not stay away from the fur?" Sun asked, waving his tail.

"I don't have fur," Ilia pointed out.

"The... the scales? Wait... I don't know... the faunus?" Sun asked, glancing at his friends.

Blake shrugged and leaned against Yang.

"This isn't what's important," Pyrrha said, flushing.

"I disagree, it's _very_ important," Sun said.

"It's really not," Pyrrha continued.

Blake let out a laugh and subtly elbowed Yang.

"Who wants to touch their stomachs?" she offered, gesturing at Ruby and Weiss with a smirk.

Nora dashed forward and all but threw her hand onto Weiss' stomach.

As people crowded around the two pregnant women, Blake gave Pyrrha a wink and a smug smile that seemed to say "you owe me one."

Pyrrha laughed and shook her head.

Blake raised an eyebrow and put a hand on Yang's shoulder almost threateningly.

Pyrrha sighed.

"Hey, Blake, do you need any help?" she asked.

"Oh, that's so nice of you to ask! Actually, I _could_ use some help."

Pyrrha forced a smile.

"I'd love to help!"

Blake smirked and led the other girl into the kitchen to get the house baby ready.

The rest of the day was filled with Blake subtly getting her friends to help her while Sun pretty much ordered everyone around.


	34. S E V E N

"Okay, seriously, you need to spill. I can't handle this anymore!" Rachel cried dramatically, falling back against the bed and throwing her arm over her eyes.

Natalie glanced at Ivy, who was currently looking directly at the wall with no outer signs of having heard their teammate.

"Spill what?" she asked.

"Whatever weird secret the two of you have been hiding for the past day. I want to _know_ ," Rachel whined.

"We've been hiding?" Ivy asked. "I guess we lost hide and go seek, because I had no idea."

Natalie snickered as her girlfriend set her head on her shoulder.

"Just answer my question, Ives," Rachel said, rolling her eyes. "I know you're smarter than that. Stop playing dumb."

Ivy glanced at Natalie.

"Team RWBY's having seven kids."

"WHAT?!" Oscar screamed.

-

Blake had been avoiding being alone with Coco all day. She had a lot on her hands and she really didn't want to also deal with the dramatic girl's mental breakdown over wanting to marry Velvet.

She was already having seven ( _seven_ ) children, so she didn't have time for an eighth.

Their friends had been at the house for a few hours now, most of them checking on Weiss and Ruby almost obsessively. So much so that even Blake felt calmer about the whole situation, knowing that other people were watching out for her wives (even if those people were all ex criminals that had once been described by the paper as "clinically insane and shouldn't be trusted under any circumstance"). Blake guessed it was unfair to hold that against them, though, considering they'd been _saving the world_ at the time, though.

What really did surprise her though was that Neo had stepped up, helping with the nursery and painting the cribs that Ren was working on. She had had to get her wife to approve the paint though, just in case it was toxic for children (even when Neo was being helpful, Blake was glad to have Ciel nearby, just in case Neo had an idea that was just a little too crazy).

Blake was constantly on the move, looking through the house just to make sure that everything was going smoothly and that so far nobody had died.

Yang was seated beside Sun, the two reading out of the binder and talking about infant care. Yang looked a bit overwhelmed, but she was clearly more excited than she was nervous.

Meanwhile, Nora was catering to Ruby and Weiss like a waitress, racing off to get them anything they asked for, only to be stopped by Pyrrha if the request was for something that they shouldn't be having (Pyrrha would always check the list that Blake had given her, which was ten pages long and alphabetized).

Velvet was helping Ilia as the pair made sure that the house was baby proof, as per very specific instructions given to them by Yang. Yatsu and Fox were helping, but more than half of that was Yatsu keeping Fox in line and not bumping into things, so they were barely helping.

Jaune was doing whatever Nora instructed him to do, racing around the house to do random chores.

Coco was busy watching Velvet as she leaned against the wall, cleraly trying to seem calm and disinterested, but Blake could probably feel the nervousness that was radiating from the other woman.

Blake rolled her eyes and quickly took another turn around the corner to avoid her.

She almost bumped into Qrow and Taiyang, who were talking about the upcoming marriage with small smiles on their faces. As Blake got out of their way, she could distantly hear them reminiscing of old times back at Beacon, which made her smile fondly. It was always nice to see others talking about their Beacon days. Made her think about her future with her friends and family, looking back on days like today where they were all racing around trying to get everything in order even though they had months left before the births.

"Come on, kid, just let me give you a boost."

Blake turned to see Elm looking down at Ilia, eyebrow raised in consideration.

"I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself," Ilia said primly, looking up at the top of the door frame, which was _way_ out of her reach.

Elm leaned against the wall, raising an eyebrow and glancing up at the door frame, which was almost her own height (Blake had seen her have to duck when entering one before, and had heard Ruby quietly muttering something about wishing that the "stupid tall girl had hit her head" to teach her a lesson on rubbing her height in other people's faces).

"Are you gonna jump, then?" Elm asked, snickering quietly.

Ilia glared at her, but in an almost playful way.

"You sound just like him, you know that?" she asked.

There was a moment of awkward silence between Elm and Ilia before the former grinned.

"Yeah, I do. We were always weirdly similar. Think it's the optimism."

Ilia gave her a small, almost sad smile, which Elm immediately tried to fix. She pulled a familiar four leaf clover pendant from her pocket, which she quickly pinned to her shirt, and cleared her throat, leaning against the wall and crossing her arms almost lazily.

"You need some help there, Colors?" she asked, her voice playfully deep as she looked down at Ilia.

The chameleon faunus tried to hold in a laugh, but she couldn't stop herself.

"How was that? Pretty convincing?" Elm asked, grinning.

"No way, his voice didn't sound like that," Ilia responded.

"Oh, it totally did, Colors," Elm replied, still using her Clover voice, which had suspiciously lowered some this time.

Ilia giggled and shook her head.

"No, it was more like," the chameleon faunus took a second to clear her throat, "this. It was more like this, Elms. See?"

Elm burst out laughing and slapped her hand against the wall, shaking it slightly.

"That's pretty good, Colors!" she responded, using her normal voice this time.

Ilia hesitated at the nickname, but a small smile spread across her face.

"Thanks."

"So do you want a hand or should I just keep watching you jump at the door frame, Colors?" Elm asked.

Ilia rolled her eyes and was about to object, but Elm reached down to grab the other girl, lifting her into the air so that she was chest level to the door frame.

Ilia let out a surprised squeak, squirming in her grip.

Elm laughed again.

"Hurry up, Colors, and stop wiggling!" she called.

Ilia rolled her eyes and went to work.

Blake smiled fondly at the pair as she watched.

It was good to see Ilia connecting with Elm after... well, after everything they'd been through. She could definitely use a woman's touch in her life, especially considering she'd never had a mother figure that she could look up to.

Blake considered staying to watch the sweet scene, but her thoughts were interrupted by loud knocking at the door.

She walked over to open the front door and was met by a wild eyed Oscar.

"Are Ruby and Weiss pregnant with seven kids?!"

-

Rachel looked up from her nails, which she had been staring at.

"Are they really having seven kids or did you do that to mess with him?" she asked.

As soon as Ivy had revealed the news, Oscar had dashed out of the room in what could almost be described as a blind panic, screaming something about going to their house. Rachel had been laughing the entire time.

"They're having seven kids," Natalie replied distantly, laying on her back on her bed. Rachel distantly felt glad that her teammate could lay like that without grimacing in pain. It was nice to see that she was feeling better after the prosthetic. It was like she was opening up to the world what Ivy had seen in her the first time they had touched, and it back Rachel smile. Seeing her teammates happy, as cliche as it sounds, made her happy too.

"That's going to be so much crying," Rachel said distractedly, pulling out her scroll as she got a message.

"Is that Alea?" Natalie asked.

Rachel scoffed.

"No way, I didn't give her my number."

Natalie side eyed her.

"What? Why not? She was totally into you."

"Cause she wasn't my type, I told you this earlier," Rachel said. "Besides, not everyone that's into _this_ ," she gestured at her body with a smirk, "gets to have it. I have standards, Nat."

"You do? Could have fooled me," Natalie said, rolling her eyes.

Rachel threw a pillow, which Natalie blocked with a wing.

"Must be low standards, considering your...," Natalie glanced at her, eyes flickering up and down Rachel's body before she smirked, "vertical challenges."

"You're gonna have some vertical challenges when I come over there," Rachel said.

"Attack of the gremlin. Sounds like a bad movie title," Natalie said.

"I like that movie," Ivy said distantly.

Rachel and Natalie glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Is that a movie?" Rachel asked. "Because if so we **need** to watch it."

"No, it's not a movie," Ivy said distractedly.

Rachel took a second to think, trying to figure out what her teammate had meant. She glanced at Natalie, who met her gaze and shrugged as if to say "who knows anymore?"

Rachel snickered and turned back to her scroll.

-

Blake let Oscar into the house with a small laugh.

"Yeah, we're having seven children."

"SEVEN!" Nora called from a little ways away.

"NORA!" Yang screamed. "What did we say about screaming that word?!"

Nora stuck her tongue out at Yang.

"Well... is there anything I can do to help?" Oscar asked.

Blake grinned.

"Dust, that's creepy," Nora muttered as she looked at Blake. "Ozzy boy you should run right now. She's crazy."

Blake reached out and set a hand on Oscar's shoulders.

"Of course you can help!"

Oscar watched Blake with a small wary expression on his face as she grinned almost in an insane way.

Blake was _definitely_ going to take advantage of her friends and their willingness to help!


	35. Daycare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna be honest right now I had no romantic plans for Rachel when I introduced her character when Natalie and Ivy were planned to get together at the beginning (uh, even before I got their characters figured out so... that was weird considering I was just like "yeah whoever these two characters are get together").
> 
> Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that I never had a solid plan for Rachel and I still don't so we're all in this together trying to figure out who's ending up with her.

Blake groaned and flopped against the couch.

"What's her problem?" Sun asked.

"She's pushing herself too hard. You know her," Yang replied, tossing a protein cookie at Blake, who grabbed it just before it could hit her in the face.

"Are you sure we can't have caffeine?" Blake asked her.

"Blake, I swear to dust, if you have any caffeine after telling me I can't, I'm going to kill you," Weiss said.

"But we're not pregnant," Yang pointed out.

Weiss stared at the blond darkly.

"At least let Blake have some! She barely ever sleeps!" Yang said.

"I have to wake up twice every night either because I have to throw up or you kick me in your sleep," Weiss said. "So don't tell me about not getting enough sleep."

Yang grimaced.

"I did that _once_ and I apologized twenty times!"

"Yang, your thigh is like the size of my whole upper body! Of course it hurt!" Weiss snapped.

Blake was about to break them out when she heard her scroll start ringing.

Blake opened it and pressed the scroll against her cat ear.

Behind her, Yang leaned over and tapped Weiss.

"Look!" she hissed. "She's using the cat ear!"

Blake glared at her darkly.

"Hi, this is Blake Belladonna-Schnee," she said, rubbing her hand over here face with a small sigh.

"Yes, Blake, hello, it's Glynda Goodwitch. I just wanted to check in and see if you four were alright since you didn't come to work today. You seemed very upset the other day."

"Oh, we're... fine, just a little overwhelmed. Apparently Weiss is having quadruplets and Ruby's carrying triplets."

"You don't have to lie to get out of work. I know that you already have a lot on your plate with the two pregnancies."

"I'm not lying, ma'am. We're having seven children."

"SEVEN!" Nora called.

"I swear, Nora, if you say it like that one more time, I'm going to kill you!" Yang cried.

Blake threw a pillow at Yang's head.

" **SEVEN**!" Nora screamed before she started to run out of the room, Yang hot on her heels with a low growl.

"You're having seven children?" Glynda asked.

"Yeah. Sorry, we needed some time to process," Blake said slowly, running a hand through her hair.

There was a moment of silence on the other side of the line and Blake held her breath.

"You're having seven children?" she repeated.

"Yeah. I'm sorry if that's going to make our work schedule harder because of the unexpected-"

"Don't worry, everything will be fine," Glynda said.

Blake raised an eyebrow, wondering if she heard excitement in the other woman's voice.

"I've always thought that if any teachers had children it would be great to have a nursery for them here."

Blake's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Are you serious?" she asked.

"Definitely!"

Glynda sounded uncharacteristically excited, which made Blake wonder if she had the wrong person and this was some sort of prank caller who was _really_ good at impersonating her boss.

"That's... that's amazing!" Blake said, sitting up straighter and snapping her fingers for her wives.

Yang came running back over, after having successfully tackled Nora to the ground for saying seven that way, and flopped onto the couch beside Blake.

"What's up, Kit-Kat?"

"Thank you very much, Ms. Goodwitch! This is so kind!" Blake said as they hung up.

She spun to face Yang and grinned.

"They're going to build a daycare! At the school!"

Yang stared at her blankly for a minute before she let out an excited cry and threw her arms around Blake, picking her up and spinning the two in a circle.

"That's great! We're going to have a _daycare_!"

"What?!" Weiss asked, her and Ruby hurrying to their sides.

While the four celebrated, Pyrrha leaned back against Sun.

"Dust," she muttered, making Sun's eyes widen. Pyrrha never cursed. "We're going to have to build that, aren't we?"

"Just think of it as a favor!" Sun said happily, grabbing her around the waist.

Pyrrha nodded and smiled up at him.

"I know, it's just... I feel like Blake's stress is transferring over to me," she said.

Sun laughed, his tail coming forward to dangle playfully in front of her face.

"I get that! Trust me! But maybe, if it helps, you can think of it as... an investment!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ilia asked, glancing between her partners and Elm.

Pyrrha's eyes widened and she looked back at Sun.

"Oh," she said, her face suddenly reddening slightly. "You mean..."

Sun grinned at her, but there was a small light of anxiety to his eyes. He hadn't meant to say that. He was trying to keep a lid on it, but...

"What?" Ilia insisted, glancing between the two.

"Well... maybe," Pyrrha said, putting her hand on top of his own and reaching forward to grab Ilia, pulling her closer.

Sun **beamed** down at her.

"Of course! It's completely up to you! I'm just going to... give you two some time to talk," he said awkwardly, flushing just slightly as he bounded over to the couch to join team RWBY in their celebrations.

-

"Ugh!" Rachel groaned. "How long is he going to _take_?!"

"Missing your boyfriend?" Natalie asked.

"First of all, he's not my boyfriend. Second of all, he would never be my boyfriend, because he's totally not my type. And last of all, I once saw you freak out when you couldn't find Ivy for ten minutes straight," Rachel replied.

"Because she gets distracted sometimes!" Natalie defended while Ivy giggled. Rachel wondered if she'd have to take care of a fire from the deep blush that Natalie was sporting. "And you keep _saying_ that these people aren't your type. What **is** your type?"

Rachel took a moment to consider, stroking her chin.

"Okay, so you know those cheesy karate movies?"

Ivy and Natalie frowned at her.

"My type is the elderly masters that are always teaching lessons through sweeping."

"Rachel, what's wrong with you?" Natalie cried.

"Hey! You can't blame me! I mean have you _seen_ those mustaches? They're seriously impressive!" Rachel said, grinning.

"They're only impressive because they're taller than you are," Natalie said, smirking.

"Now that's just cold. I thought your semblance was fire, Nat," Rachel replied, rolling her eyes.

"That was weak!" Natalie called, throwing a pillow at Rachel's face.

"What are you, twelve? Is this some sort of pillow fight?!" Rachel asked, snickering.

Natalie flipped her off.

"I knew you were a juvenile," Rachel said.

Ivy continued to sway back and forth, but she gave Rachel a considering look.

Rachel felt a bit unnerved by the stare, if only because she knew how much Ivy could figure out with just a glance.

"What is it, Ives?" she asked, sitting up a bit straighter.

"I'm not a pedophile."

"What?!" Natalie and Rachel cried as one.

"She's not a child. I'm not a pedophile," Ivy said, gesturing vaguely at Natalie with a nod of her head.

There was a beat of silence before Rachel burst out laughing.

"Dang it, Ives!" she said.

Natalie was blushing slightly, and Rachel rolled out of her bed immediately, falling straight onto a fire that had started beside her.

"What the-Rachel are you okay?!" Natalie called.

Rachel snickered.

"Of course I'm okay! You know," she said with a raised eyebrow, "you're not the only one that can store heat. I can store a bunch of weird crap! Temperature, wakefulness, and-"

"Can you store height? Is that why you're so short right now?" Natalie asked.

Rachel growled.

"One day, Nat, I'm going to get you for that."

"I mean, it's not like you can reach anything important, so I think I'll be good," Natalie replied.

"Son of a-"

-

Ilia leaned against Pyrrha gently, frowning slightly.

"So he was saying that..."

"One day, yes," Pyrrha replied quietly.

Ilia's scales flushed a light shade of pink, which made Pyrrha smile even in her slightly distracted state. It was always adorable when she did that.

"Oh."

"Yeah. Oh."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit goes to Mastertc for suggesting that I do a daycare


	36. What Just Happened?!

Weiss opened her eyes and glanced back at Ruby, who smirked at her. It was weird to see Ruby awake so early, but she definitely had a reason to be up so early.

Ruby lifted her arm and Weiss gently crawled out of bed, reaching her hand out to offer to Ruby. Ruby wiggled out from under someone's arm, she thought it was Blake considering she'd fallen asleep in her arms.

Weiss held her hand tightly as they crept across the bedroom and reached out her hand to grab the door handle, slowly opening it. There was a quiet creak, and Ruby flinched, looking over her shoulder.

Yang and Blake were still asleep on the bed, which let Ruby sigh quietly in relief.

Weiss pushed the door open and slid out between the small crack. Ruby followed after her and the two hastily walked toward the kitchen, their feet padding almost silently against the floor with the sound muffled by the socks they'd worn to bed.

"Oh, I'm so excited!" Ruby whispered as Weiss led her into the kitchen.

The former heiress glanced back at her with a fond smile on her face.

"Me too!" Weiss hissed.

They turned the corner and Weiss headed to the far counter, Ruby going to the closet with a quiet, almost evil laugh.

Just as Ruby was about to open the closet door, the lights switched on.

Ruby squealed and Weiss cursed, spinning on her heel and reaching a hand to her chest in her shock.

Ruby's eyes widened in shock as they landed on Blake.

"Blake?! But... but you were... what?!"

"Were you trying to get more cookies, Ruby?" Blake asked, her hands were sat on the table together, clutching each other formally as she stared at her wives. "And Weiss... were you trying to get coffee?"

"What?! No way!" Ruby backtracked quickly, all but jumping away from the closet door.

"I'm so sorry," Weiss said quickly, eyes widening in shock. "I was just missing it so much and-"

"Go back to bed," Blake said. "And maybe I'll forget about this."

Ruby dashed back to the bedroom.

Weiss hesitated.

"How did you know-"

Blake smirked.

"Mother's intuition. Now go back to bed, Angel."

Weiss gave her a small smile and shook her head.

"They aren't born yet."

"But they'll be beautiful and perfect when they are born because you didn't drink coffee and we're amazing parents. Now go to bed."

Weiss hurried around the corner and Ruby grabbed her hand, the pair heading back to the bedroom together.

"How did she know?" Ruby whispered.

"I have no idea! And she was in bed when we got up," Weiss replied.

She quietly opened the door, and the pair slid inside together, heading back to the bed.

Ruby pulled back the covers and let herself slip under, holding her arms open for Weiss to curl up in.

Arms wrapped around Ruby's waist, and she jumped, looking behind her with a confused expression.

"What?!" she hissed.

Blake smiled at her.

"Just go back to sleep, Sugar."

Weiss spun and gaped at Blake.

"What?! How did you... but you were... and..."

Blake shushed her gently.

"Quiet, Yang's still asleep. Don't wake her up, Angel."

Ruby and Weiss exchanged a look.

"What just happened?!" Ruby hissed.

Blake pulled her closer and started to purr.

Weiss had a look of fear in her eyes.

"Just go to sleep."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by a comment from DRGUINEAPIG87!


	37. Getting Ready

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm not going to lie, I've been having some trouble figuring out how to pass the time in this part, so I've been accepting some requests (more so than usual) and this time I've accepted one from EminentLifeform (though it kinda got away from me and the comment grew to something more ngl)

The next day was weird (and no, that's not mentioning the morning, which Ruby and Weiss still had yet to mention and Blake was quietly smirking about as they drove to Beacon).

What made the next day weird was how... _excited_ Glynda seemed to be. She showed team RWBY the daycare room, which they assumed would be in the process of being emptied so that it could be changed to be baby friendly. But, instead, it was... already finished?

"How long did this take?" Blake asked, grabbing Yang's hand tightly.

"It's been done for a few years. We had a pregnancy scare with a professor before you all came to Beacon. Haven't torn it down since," Glynda said.

Ruby started to bounce up and down on her toes with a wide grin, setting her hand on her stomach.

"Oh my dust! This is going to be _perfect_!"

"Don't you mean _purr_ fect?" Yang asked, elbowing her sister.

Blake gave her a small glare.

"Can you please stop with the faunus puns," she hissed darkly.

Yang laughed and shook her head.

"But they're going to be _so cute_ ," she whispered.

"Exactly," Blake reached her hands up and looped them around the blond's hands with a small smile. "You should be careful what you say in front of them. You don't want to make them think that their mother is _racist._ "

"You play dirty," Yang said.

Weiss rolled her eyes and smacked the two on the arms.

"Hey, stop it," the former heiress chided.

The two pulled apart and gave the headmistress apologetic smiles.

"This is... amazing! Thank you _so much_ for letting us use this," Blake said, running her hand across the painted wall.

"Of course! I'd love to help. And I'm sure the babies will be super cute. I can't wait to meet them," Glynda said.

Blake glanced over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow at the headmistress.

"I'm sure they're going to love you," Weiss added and gave Blake a small smile, reaching forward to grab the faunus by the hands.

But the headmistress' excitement wasn't the weirdest thing that had happened that week, or even that day.

Team RWBY was... very ready for their babies, which was causing the four to act rather... differently.

-

The first day they were back, Blake was the first to start showing her symptoms.

"Hey, Ils, you got a snack?" Sun asked, giving her a pleading look.

"Do I look like the kind of person who carries food around in her pocket?" Ilia asked.

"Pyrrha?" he asked, giving her a loving smile. "You're always there for me when I need you!"

"Sorry, Sun," she gestured at her armor, "no pockets."

Blake didn't look up from her papers that she was grading for her class. She pulled the drawer of her desk open and grabbed an orange, peeling it distractedly.

"Here," she said, setting the orange on a napkin and putting it in front of Sun, who grabbed it excitedly.

"Thanks, Blake!" he said, tail wagging happily.

Blake gave him a short, fond smile.

"No problem."

-

The next day, Yang was checking on Coco.

"How are you holding up?" she asked, taking a seat next to the fashionista.

Coco let out a quiet sigh, letting her head fall against the wall behind her.

"Not good, Yang."

"Do you need to talk about it?" Yang asked.

Coco glanced at her, tilting her sunglasses down on her nose just slightly so that she could look at her in the eyes.

"Really?" Coco asked. "Blake seemed to think you guys were too busy for my stuff."

"Of course we have time for you, Coco," Yang said, giving her a small smile.

Coco considered for a moment and shook her head.

"Alright, fine," she said. "I'm just... worried. I'm not sure if she's ready, I'm not sure how to ask, when to ask, where to get the ring, which ring to get... It's just... I've never really thought I'd get married and now all the sudden it seem _real_ and it's a lot to take in."

"Why didn't you think you'd get married? You're an awesome woman and girls have practically thrown themselves at your feet for years. And why are _you_ of all people worried about how to propose? I thought that you were supposed to be super romantic," Yang said.

"Yeah, but when I met Velvet everything was... _different_ with her. And now... I think _I'm_ different, Yang."

Yang smirked and leaned back against the wall.

"When I met Blake and Weiss, I didn't think I'd ever fall in love. But they were... different. They changed me as a person, made me want to be a better woman so that I could be worthy of them," Yang said. "Everyday, I want to be a better person so that I can be a better wife to them. If Velvet makes you want to be the best version of you, then that's a good thing, not something you should be worried about, even if you've never felt that way before."

Coco glanced at her and raised an eyebrow.

"When did you become such a good person to talk to? When you started at Beacon, you might have been one of the worst people to talk with I've ever known," Coco said. "Now you're gonna be a _mom_!" she reached forward and playfully punched Yang in the shoulder with a grin.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm gonna be a mom. Do you need help with this whole proposal thing?"

Coco stared at her for a long moment.

"That would be **amazing**!"

Yang grinned and reached over, patting Coco on the shoulder in a fond way.

"Great. We'll go ring shopping in a few days."

-

Velvet let out a sigh, glancing over at Weiss.

"I just don't think she wants to commit to me, Weiss, and it's driving me crazy. I've never felt like this! I know that she's a bit different than when we first met, calmer, more kind, but still... I just don't know if she wants this relationship to go anywhere."

Weiss hesitated, reaching a hand out to grab Velvet's.

"Velvet, I'm sure that she wants this relationship to go somewhere. Maybe you should just talk to her."

"But if I say the wrong thing or it's too early, then maybe I'll scare her off."

"I didn't think Coco got scared off easy," Weiss said dryly.

Velvet laughed.

"Then you don't know everything."

Weiss raised an eyebrow at the faunus, considering for a moment before she tentatively reached her arm out to wrap around Velvet.

Velvet hesitated for a moment, glancing at the former heiress, before she leaned against her, letting out a quiet sigh.

"Maybe you're right. Or maybe I _am_ crazy already. Who knows."

Weiss ran her hand up and down the faunus' arm gently.

"You're not. It's alright," she said softly.

Velvet let out a long sigh before she side eyed Weiss.

"You're gonna be a great mom, Weiss."

The former heiress found herself smiling gently.

When she was younger, she hadn't exactly thought of herself as the maternal type. But now... well, things certainly changed.

She glanced around the hallway, heart filling at the familiar sight.

Beacon changed a person. Before she'd walked through these halls, she'd been racist, slightly homophobic, stuck up, and downright bossy.

The her then wouldn't have thought for a _second_ that she'd end up married to _three_ girls, one of which a faunus, and denounced her title as heiress to the SDC for good with no regrets. Not to mention cradling an upset rabbit faunus that was complaining about her love life.

So was it really that weird to think that she'd grown more maternal in the years since she'd first set foot in this place?

-

"Hey, hey, don't push yourselves too far. Don't want you getting hurt," Yang said, clapping a hand on Rachel's shoulder as she panted, leaning against her knees with a winded expression.

Rachel glanced up at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Never thought you were one to warn against someone pushing themselves. Seems like a bit of a hypocritical thing to say, don't you think?" she said between labored breaths.

"Do as I say, not as I do," Yang replied.

Rachel snickered, standing up and going to lean back against a desk that Ivy sat behind. Her teammate reached forward to grab her hand, face growing contemplative.

"You already sound like a parent," she said, rolling her eyes.

Rachel had probably pushed herself too far, but it had been worth it to beat up her sparring partner in hand-to-hand combat. She'd heard him bad mouthing Ivy the other day, which she and Natalie always had to stop early on, in case people started to think that team ORIN wouldn't do anything about it. She might have exhausted almost all of her lung reserves (and those were a pain and a half to restore), but at least she had shown that idiot who was boss.

Yang grinned down at Rachel, reaching one hand up to ruffle her hair.

"Maybe that's cause I'm about to be one."

Rachel rolled her eyes before she vaulted over the table, landing beside Ivy with a small smirk. She didn't want her teammate to be _too_ worried about her.

-

Rachel was asleep in Blake's class, which was _not_ a good thing. It had been a day since she'd used up her reserves in Yang's class, and she was dedicating the next twenty-four hours to hardcore restoration. She'd been rather lax on it lately, and she needed to get back into the habit. She wasn't just storing up lung space, but also pretty much everything she _could_ store.

Ivy had brought one of her blankets (the flower one that Rachel had forced Natalie to wear when they'd first found out about her semblance) and had draped it across the other girl's shoulders.

As Ilia and Blake started the lecture of the day, Blake hesitated by Rachel, staring down at her.

Natalie leaned forward quickly.

"Uh, Mrs. Belladonna-Schnee, I'm so sorry for this, but she really needs to recharge. I can wake her up if you want, but she's really-"

Blake held up a hand to silence Natalie, reaching down her hands to fix the blanket so that it was wrapped more tightly around Rachel's shoulders. Rachel made a small sound of joy and shifted so that she was a little more sprawled out toward Natalie.

"Warm," she muttered quietly, yawning as she slipped toward the edge of the table.

Natalie reached out to catch Rachel just before she fell off of the table, and Rachel made a drunken giggle at the action before her eyes fell shut.

Blake looked down at the girl with concern.

"She may or may not be storing up intelligence as well," Natalie supplied, giving Blake an awkward smile.

The faunus trailed off to her desk and returned a few minutes later with a pillow, which she set on the table.

Oscar raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you even have that?" he whispered, careful not to interrupt Ilia's lesson, for fear that she might lose her train of thought and then remember how many people she was talking in front of, which was never a good thing.

"Ruby's been getting tired lately. She drifts off randomly sometimes."

"Well, she is eight weeks pregnant, it's really not a surprise," Oscar said with a small smile.

He side eyed his partner for a moment, raising an eyebrow as Rachel giggled in her sleep. Natalie just shook her head sufferingly, reaching around the other girl to grab Ivy's hand.

Blake returned to the front of the classroom with Ilia.

-

Weiss watched Ivy warily as Winter taught the class.

There was something _off_ about the younger girl, something that always made Weiss nervously.

Ivy was currently swaying back and forth almost distractedly, but her gaze suddenly shot to Weiss.

The former heiress suddenly stiffened, eyes widening.

Ivy just gave her a small, almost playful and almost drunken smile.

Weiss struggled to match the expression while Ivy raised her hand up, waving slowly.

Weiss waved back awkwardly, taking a subconscious step backwards at the odd exchange.

Class passed painfully slowly for Weiss after that, with her constantly looking over at Ivy and finding that the young girl was still staring at her.

When the bells finally rang, Weiss let out a sigh of relief, turning away fully and heading back to the desk she shared with Winter.

She sat down and turned-

"GAH!" Weiss cried, almost falling backwards in her chair as her gaze met Ivy's own.

"Hello," Ivy said. Weiss almost flinched. The girl's voice was always almost melodic in nature, as if she was a moment away from either breaking out in song or reciting a poem that proclaimed Weiss' prophesied death. The former heiress honestly didn't know which one would be worse.

 _Dust, is she one of those crazy people that sings children's songs super slow? Or in reverse? Is she going to try and steal my soul?_ Weiss thought nervously, trying to see if she could get her sister's attention for help.

Winter didn't seem to notice Ivy, as she was flipping through some papers that needed to be graded and hadn't looked in their direction once.

"You don't like me."

Weiss flinched.

"What? No, that's crazy!" the former heiress said, laughing nervously.

"You think I'm creepy. Why?" Ivy asked.

"Maybe because you know that and have dead little mackerel eyes?!" Weiss said suddenly, pushing herself backward in her chair.

Ivy's hand shot forward to grab the chair and Weiss let out a quiet sound of shock.

"You shouldn't tip backwards in that chair. It's not stable," Ivy said.

Weiss looked over the girl's shoulder in an attempt to see if Ivy's teammates were anywhere nearby, perhaps moments from saving the former heiress from this crazy student.

Oscar waved, standing beside Natalie, who was currently holding a passed out Rachel in her arms bridal carry. Rachel let out a quiet laugh, reaching her arm up toward Natalie, who watched her warily.

"Boop!" Rachel said drunkenly, starting to giggle as she sloppily poked Natalie's nose, almost missing and hitting her in the eye.

Natalie stared down at her.

"What the heck is wrong with you?" Natalie hissed.

Rachel just giggled.

Ivy snapped her fingers to gain Weiss' attention.

"So you're scared of me," she said, her eyes suddenly turning sad as she moved back from Weiss.

"I... I wouldn't say that I'm _scared._ Maybe just mildly frightened-"

Ivy nodded and let go of the chair gently once she was sure that all four legs were on the floor once more.

"It's alright, I get it. A lot of people are scared of me. I'm scary, and weird, and confusing, so it's easier just to avoid me. I'm sorry that I frightened you, I'll stay out of your hair."

Weiss stared up into Ivy's eyes as she started to turn around. There was a light of despair in them, and Weiss could suddenly relate to the inability to be understood.

Weiss reached her hand out and grabbed Ivy's, knowing how much information it would give the other girl.

Ivy hesitated and glanced back at Weiss, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"I'm sorry I've been avoiding you. I shouldn't have been so judgmental, it's just... I've never really been good at opening up to people, and-"

"You like to do it on your own terms, so the idea that there's someone who takes away your option to stay reserved is terrifying. You've spent your whole life creating an image that hid who you really were, and it's hard to give that up. But you're trying. But then I scared you."

Weiss felt a spike of fear at the insightful words, but she pushed it down, nodding.

"Yes. That's exactly it. This isn't about you, it's about my own issues."

"It always is," Ivy said. "It's never really about me. The reason people fear me, is because they project their own insecurities onto me, and then get scared of how much I know," Ivy hesitated as Weiss stared at her in shock. "I'm not stupid, Weiss. I'm very good at reading people, even though I don't look like it."

"I... I know. I'm sorry."

Ivy gave her a wide smile and shrugged.

"That's alright! I get it all the time!"

Ivy leaned forward and gave Weiss a light hug.

"By the way, the names you've picked out are very lovely."

Weiss hesitated and stared at her.

"You did that one just to scare me. You're messing with me!" Weiss declared, a small smile on her face.

"It's not very hard to do, Mrs. Belladonna-Schnee. See you around!"

Ivy spun on her heel and all but skipped over to her teammates, looping her arm through Natalie's and setting her hand on Rachel's thigh.

"She's storing too much, you know. She should go slower," Ivy said distantly as they started to walk out.

"Have you ever known Rachel to ever half do something?" Natalie asked.

Rachel stirred in her arms and pointed at Ivy, starting to slur in a way that made Weiss seriously question if the young girl was drunk.

"You're... you're not _scary_ , Ives. You're _funny_ and...," Rachel paused to yawn, and Ivy giggled.

"And you should go back to sleep."

Rachel let out a hum as a response, curling up in Natalie's arms further. She was snoring a moment later, and the faunus rolled her eyes.

Weiss watched them go, smiling.

-

Ruby bounced up and down on the tips of her toes.

"Yang told me how you did last week at the sparring session, Rachel! You were awesome!" Ruby cried.

Rachel jumped at the mention of her name, putting on a grin.

"I know right? I'm pretty amazing."

Ruby laughed and rolled her eyes.

"And so very humble."

"Oh yeah, definitely. Humble, modest, you name it, I'm the best at it," Rachel said, giving her teacher a playful smirk.

Ruby shook her head with a small smile.

"You look distracted," Ruby said, leaning against the table. "Someone catch your eye?"

Natalie suddenly leaned over, smirking.

"There's this girl she keeps saying 'isn't her type,' but I'm pretty sure that totally into her."

"Oh?" Ruby asked, grinning.

Rachel rolled her eyes sufferingly.

"That's _not_ what's happening, Mrs. Belladonna-Schnee," Rachel turned and glared at Natalie, punching her on the arm. "And I told you that Alea _is not_ my type!"

"Then why did you flirt with her? And she's waving at you _right now_!" Natalie hissed, gesturing over at the other side of the room where Alea grinned at Rachel, waving.

Rachel shot her a wink and a sultry smile.

Alea giggled and Natalie rolled her eyes.

"Either drop her or ask her out!" Natalie said.

"I never picked her up, and I'm never asking her out!" Rachel hissed.

"Then why did you flirt with her?" Oscar asked.

"I told you! You three were questioning my skills, I needed to show them off! There's nothing wrong with a little harmless flirting."

Ivy glanced over at the words, frowning just slightly.

Ruby raised an eyebrow and wrote down something on a piece of paper, which she passed over to Rachel.

"Send me a message if you need anything."

Rachel nodded and subtly slipped the paper into her pocket.

She really might need some help...

Ruby watched her with a small raised eyebrow. She was pretty sure she knew what was happening, and she wanted to help.

She liked helping children. She was going to be a good mother.

Natalie raised an eyebrow and glanced at Rachel, who gave her a small smirk.

"What was that about?" Natalie asked.

"Why are you so nosy?" Rachel said, elbowing her with a small grin.

Natalie rolled her eyes and wondered why Rachel had been so weird lately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took a while, but it's okay 3k words.
> 
> Also just saying we hit 400k words (YEAHHH)


	38. Mothering (1.0)

Yang let out a cry of shock as Coco grabbed her by the hand and dragged her down the hallway.

"What's happening?" Yang asked in confusion.

"You're helping me!" Coco replied, tightening her hold on the other girl's hand.

"If my wives see you holding my hand, I'm not responsible for what happens. Weiss' a very jealous person, you know. Think it might be because she got everything she wanted when she was younger," Yang said, glancing to the side as if expecting to find Weiss at her side. "Dust, I've probably been spending way too much time with them."

Coco scoffed and rolled her eyes at the other girl.

"Speaking of how long is this going to take?"

"You missing those two already?" Coco asked playfully.

"First of all, yes, I am. Second of all, it's nine because I'm having seven kids. Well, maybe ten, not sure if I'll miss Rubes."

Coco laughed.

"Are you not going to be missing Velvet?" Yang asked.

Coco rolled her eyes, but a small blush spread across her face.

"It won't take that long, we just need to go to pick out a ring."

Yang rolled her eyes and pulled out her scroll.

 **Yang:** _Gonna be home late, Coco just kidnapped me. Be back later._

-

Velvet awkwardly scuffed her foot against the ground worriedly.

"Hey, Weiss, since we were just talking about this, could you come talk for a little while? I'm kind of worried. Coco's been acting weird and she just ran off," Velvet said with a small sigh.

Weiss looked over to look at her friend.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, we can definitely talk, but I'll need to tell..."

Weiss pulled her scroll out of her pocket and read the text.

 **Weiss:** _What a coincidence, Yang. Velvet just abducted me too._

-

Ruby's scroll went off, and she held it up against her ear.

"Hey, uh... Mrs. Belladonna-Schnee, I... I'd like to take you up on that offer to talk," Rachel's voice came out hesitantly.

"Oh!" Ruby said excitedly. "Yeah! Okay! I'd love to talk! What do you want to talk about?!"

"I'm... not really sure yet. I'm just kind of... confused. I'm sorry-"

"No! No, don't apologize! Just tell me where and when!"

"Can we meet at the balcony in the east hall in ten minutes?" Rachel asked a bit tentatively, and Ruby could tell that she was rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly.

"Yes! Of course!" Ruby dashed off and hung up the phone, starting to type. She found that there were already two messages waiting for her.

**Ruby:** _That's crazy! I have to talk to Rachel about... something. I don't know what, but it's definitely something._

-

Blake let out a sigh, running a hand through her hair as she looked down at the scroll in her hands.

All three of her wives were being kidnapped by various family friends. She herself might as well find some shenanigans to get involved for.

Blake strode down the hall, wondering if she should ask Ruby or Weiss to join them, but she heard loud pacing back and forth to the side, which made her pause. She recognized the metallic sound of those armored boots.

She stopped by a doorway and looked into the nearby classroom.

"Uh, Pyrrha? You alright?"

Pyrrha flinched and glanced over at her, giving the faunus a tight-lipped smile.

"I'm perfectly fine! Thank you for your concern!" Pyrrha said.

Blake raised an eyebrow.

"I could help you or I could not, but don't lie to me, I'm smarter than that," Blake said.

Pyrrha chuckled and gave her a small smile.

"I know, Blake, I'm sorry. I just kind of panicked."

Blake stepped inside and closed the door behind her gently.

 **Blake:** _I think the universe is trying to tell us something, because Pyrrha needs me_.

 **Yang:** _Dust, is this what having seven kids is gonna be like?_

 **Weiss:** _This is only four. There's SEVEN, Yang, not four._

**Yang:** _Dust, I can HEAR the way you're saying it, and you need to stop._

**Ruby:** _S E V E N, YANG!_

Blake laughed and pushed her scroll back into her pocket as she headed toward Pyrrha, taking a seat on top of the teacher's desk (she thought this was Pyrrha's room, but she wasn't completely certain).

"What's wrong?"

"Sun... said something a little while ago, and it's making me consider a lot of things," Pyrrha said evasively.

"Sun says a lot of things, most of which are stupid. What are you referring to?" Blake asked. "If he hurt your feelings, I'm sure he didn't mean to. He loves you _very_ much, Pyrrha."

The redhead let out a quiet chuckle, though it sounded almost forced.

"No, he didn't hurt my feelings, Blake. It's just... he said something about planning for the future and it made me consider..."

"Your future with him?" the faunus supplied knowingly.

Pyrrha nodded emphatically.

Blake crossed her legs and leaned forward so that she could see Pyrrha better.

"I understand. That happened a lot with me when Ruby, Yang, Weiss, and myself were getting together. I don't even know if it was on purpose most of the time, but they'd have these little comments about where they thought this relationship was going. It would always scare me, because I didn't know if I was ready for what they wanted."

Pyrrha nodded quickly, taking a seat across from Blake and looking her in the eyes intently.

"Blake, I _really_ love him. But... he and I haven't been dating as long as Ilia and I have, which makes this whole thing really.... weird sometimes. Half the time he acts like he feels like he's just as much a part of this relationship as we are, and then half the time he's trying to give us alone time because he thinks he's bothering us. I love them both so much, and equally, which I never thought was possible before I met you four, and I **never** thought I'd experience it. But... I just don't know what the future could hold for us."

Blake reached out her hand and set it on Pyrrha's leg gently.

"That's why I'm here. Let's talk."

Pyrrha let out a quiet sigh of relief, setting her hand on top of Blake's.

"Thank you."

-

Coco finally pulled to a stop, which made Yang sigh with relief. They'd been walking for who knows how long, and they'd finally stopped at a jewelry store.

Coco pushed the door open, still holding onto Yang's hand in a death grip as if she was either scared that the blond would try to make a break for it or that she herself was too nervous to go through with it.

"How did you decide which ring to buy Blake and Weiss?" Coco whispered as they walked up to the counter.

"We just... knew. We found one that spoke to who they were, and we went for it," Yang said, playing with her golden ring, a small smile on her face.

Coco took a deep breath, nodding as she put her hand on the counter gently.

"Uh, hi. I'd like to see your engagement ring selection," Coco said to the employee, who raised an eyebrow, glancing between the pair with a small look of disdain.

Yang instantly disliked the man.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

Coco frowned and reached her hand up to push down her sunglasses.

"That I want to marry the love of my life? Yeah, I'm pretty dust damn sure. Now either show me the engagement rings or I'll take my business elsewhere."

Yang smirked at the employee who rolled his eyes.

"Yes, ma'am," he said.

Coco nodded and tapped her fingers on the glass in frustration.

The man returned a few minutes later and set down the rings.

Coco took off her sunglasses fully now as she looked down at the selection.

"You do know that it's not very common to see the couple buying an engagement ring together," the man said, glaring at the two.

Coco and Yang both glanced at each other and made disgusted sounds, yanking their hands apart.

"You think I want to marry _that thing_? Gross, man!" Coco said, shaking her head.

"Why does this always happen to me?! First my _sister_ , now you?!" Yang brought her hand up and showed off her ring. "I'm already married, thank you very much, and to two beautiful women that are _way_ out of my league."

"It's true," Coco said.

"And she's about to propose to a woman that really deserves **so** much better," Yang said, gesturing at her friend.

"She's right," Coco agreed distractedly, looking at the rings with a keen eye. "I really don't deserve her."

"That's why I told you to lock her down, Coco. You're never gonna find one like her."

"That's why I'm buying a ring, Yang, now stop breathing down my neck."

"You're the one that asked me to be here!"

"Yeah, as support that wouldn't make fun of me the whole time! That's why I didn't invite Fox and Yatsu!"

Yang rolled her eyes.

"Then you shouldn't have invited _anyone_ in this friend group, Coco. You know that the only one who'd be that nice to you is Velvet."

"And you **know** I can't take her, so you're the best option I could find on short notice!" Coco hissed, though there was a wide smile on her face as she looked at the rings.

Yang laughed, but quieted down, knowing that this was a very special occasion for her friend.

-

"I just... I need to know that she's all in, because I _definitely_ am! And I just... I really want to know before..."

Weiss reached over and set her hand on top of Velvet's.

"I've seen the way that girl looks at you. You don't have anything to worry about."

Velvet let out a sigh and she glanced at the former heiress, giving her a small smile.

"You really think so?" she asked.

"I **know** so."

Velvet leaned back against the wall.

"I just... I want the family. I want the house, the marriage, the kids... and I just don't think that she has those same goals in mind long term."

"Love can really change a person, Velvet. When she met you, she probably wasn't. But now that you two have become so close, and now that she's fallen in love with you, I'm sure that her outlook on marriage has changed."

"How can you be so sure?" Velvet asked, fidgeting slightly.

"I...," Weiss hesitated. "I just am."

Velvet didn't look reassured in the slightest, and Weiss scrambled to find the right words.

"I don't know if anyone's ever told you this, probably because Coco would threaten them with bodily harm, but... ever since the two of you got together, every time I've seen Coco meet someone new, she says the same thing. Do you want to know what she says?"

Velvet nodded.

"She raises her hand and points at you, and she says, 'do you see that girl right there? The hot little rabbit faunus? Yeah, that's my girlfriend, and she's the most precious person in this world. If you lay a finger on her, I'll let you know the true definition of pain.'"

Velvet let out a quiet laugh, shaking her head.

"She doesn't say that."

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Do you remember when you met Whitley, and he wouldn't talk to you or even look at you for almost a month?" Weiss asked.

Velvet nodded slowly.

"That's because Coco's speech was a _little_ more direct that time, making sure that he knew just how much she disliked how he treated faunus, and **exactly** what she would do to him if he touched you."

Velvet stared at Weiss a bit hesitantly.

"Really?"

"Really. She might not say it often, to you at least, but she's all in. She loves you, and she'd do anything for you. She might not even know it yet, because, let's face it, that girl it's very in touch with her emotions, but she wants to spend the rest of her life with you."

Velvet sniffled and leaned against Weiss' side.

"You're a good friend, Weiss."

The former heiress smiled and wrapped an arm around Velvet's shoulders.

"Who would have thought I'd be sitting here getting relationship from Weiss Schnee?" Velvet asked.

"That's Weiss _Belladonna_ -Schnee now."

"Good. I never liked that Weiss Schnee. She was always a bit stuck up, if you ask me."

Weiss gasped in offense, but Velvet could tell it was playful.

"Weiss Belladonna-Schnee though... I think I could get used to her," Velvet whispered.

"Me too."

-

Pyrrha glanced at Blake, chuckling.

"Are we really doing this?" she asked.

"Definitely. Now tell me how you fell in love with these two."

-

Ruby sat down next to Rachel.

"Now, tell me what's wrong."

"Everything."

"Then let's start with what's wrong _the most_."

Rachel considered for a second.

"I think I figured out my type."

"What does that mean?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I feel bad for the cliffhanger? No.  
> Do I feel bad for how long it took me to write this? Yes.


	39. Mothering (2.0)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hate to be pompous *laughter in the background from everyone that knows me* but if you didn't ship PyrrhaxSunxIlia before, I think (or rainbow hellos as Qorvid suggested) this chapter might just convince you!

"This is it. I want this one," Coco said to Yang, grabbing the first engagement ring with a wide smile.

"Because it's _carrot_ gold?" Yang asked.

"First of all, it's pronounced _carat_ gold, and second of all it isn't carat gold," Coco said, rolling her eyes.

Yang rolled her eyes with a small snicker.

"But it was totally worth it to make that joke," Yang said.

Coco shook her head and turned to the employee.

"I'll take it," she said.

The employee nodded in a suffering fashion, and Coco flipped off his back as he left to get the ring ready.

 **Weiss:** _Did Coco already buy the ring?_

 **Yang:** _Picked out and everything!_

**Weiss:** _Great. That's great._

Yang raised an eyebrow at the message, but she shoved her scroll back into her pocket as Coco turned to face her.

"Thanks for coming with me."

"Of course! After all, you're going to be taking care of my kids soon, aren't you?" Yang said, elbowing the other woman.

"Oh dust was this whole thing a way to get me to owe you?"

Yang held up her hands innocently.

"Hey, it's not my fault. Blake said to get dirt on you so you can later get crap on you by changing diapers."

Coco gaped at her.

"That's the grossest sentence I've ever heard."

Yang grimaced and nodded, wincing.

"Yeah, I've done better."

Coco rolled her eyes and put her sunglasses back on as the employee walked back up to them.

"Thank you," Coco said as she passed her credit card over, clearly wanting this transaction to be finished.

"When are you going to propose? What's the plan?" Yang asked, casually leaning against the counter.

"No idea."

"What?!"

"I have no idea when or how I'm gonna propose. I think I'm gonna wing it."

"You're an idiot."

"Thank you," Coco said as she took the ring box, gently sliding it into her pocket with a wide grin on her face.

Yang just shook her head sufferingly.

 _Dust, I hope my children aren't that stupid,_ she thought.

-

Blake raised an eyebrow as she looked at Pyrrha.

"Tell me how you fell in love with these two."

That didn't draw her out of her state of distraction.

_/_

_Pyrrha could remember the first time she'd met Ilia. It hadn't been an exceedingly romantic situation, definitely not to Ilia, who'd been tied up at the time and sitting on the floor of team RWBY's room when Nora had come barging in._

_Pyrrha didn't know what it had been that had drawn her to the other girl, but she'd been drawn toward her anyways. She had sat down next to Ilia, at the time to help Blake talk reason into her old friend, but had slowly become more and more interested in the young faunus._

_Their conversation had been brief, and rather odd considering they barely talked about the reason Pyrrha was there to speak to her, but it had been... weirdly nice._

_Ilia had **known** that Pyrrha was a famous champion from the moment they'd met, but she hadn't acted any different afterwards. She wasn't nicer to Pyrrha because of it, didn't try to get any favors from her..._

_In her life, Pyrrha had only ever met one other person that hadn't cared about her being famous, and she'd immediately gotten a crush on Jaune because of it._

_Ironically, her feelings for Ilia had come slower than they had for him. It hadn't been until the moment that she was in that chamber watching Cinder fighting against Ilia that Pyrrha had realized she was in love with the chameleon faunus, that she **needed** to be able to protect her._

_In that moment, memories had flashed before her eyes._

_Ilia the first day they'd met, the pain and betrayal in her eyes as she'd looked at Blake._

_The next day when Ilia had slowly let her guard down around Pyrrha, showing who she was underneath._

_The weeks they had spent together following Ilia's betrayal to the White Fang, where she had stayed at Pyrrha's side and been willing to protect the redhead from anyone, including herself. Because Pyrrha's greatest enemy had always been her and her own expectations for the person that she had to be, the things she had to do for the world._

_The day when Pyrrha's world had been turned upside down, when Ozpin had told her that she had the opportunity to save the world, but might have to give up herself in the process. Pyrrha had been lost and confused, her views on what was right and what was wrong thrown asunder as the universe spun out of control. But Ilia had been there to calm her down, to say that she believed that Pyrrha was in control of her fate, and that she didn't owe the world anything. That had been one of the most meaningful and life changing conversations of Pyrrha's life, if not the most._

_The faunus always wondered why Pyrrha loved her, but... Pyrrha couldn't fathom why she'd ever be nervous about that. Ilia was smart, funny, kind, and so, **so** loyal. When Ilia decided that she believed in something, she would do **anything** to help achieve her dreams, like she'd done with the White Fang._

_And sitting in that chamber, Pyrrha realized that, despite her faults, despite her anxieties about her own decisions and future... Ilia had picked **her** to believe in. Ilia had decided that she trusted Pyrrha more than the redhead trusted herself, and would do anything to protect her and help her achieve her dreams and her destiny._

_Ilia had been willing to give up everything to buy Pyrrha a few more seconds, and those seconds had been the ones that the redhead had realized she was in love._

_What people didn't seem to understand was that Pyrrha was just a girl who had fallen in love with another that completed her in ways she never expected to find._

_Ilia had been, for the longest time, the only person that had been able to calm Pyrrha down, to get her out of her own head and make her understand that the world didn't rest on her shoulders, no matter how much it felt like it did. Ilia had been the only one that could make Pyrrha remember that she **was** just another girl, and that she didn't owe anything to the world, no matter how much people seemed to think so... no matter how much Pyrrha herself did._

_And for the longest time, Ilia had been the only person that Pyrrha truly felt she needed. Ilia had completed her, and, for reasons Pyrrha honestly couldn't fathom, she completed Ilia. Because, despite how much the faunus seemed to think the opposite, Pyrrha never understood how Ilia had fallen for her. She was a barrel full of anxiety and the weirdest mix of pompous belief that the world **needed** her, yet she wasn't sure if she would be good enough. If anything, Pyrrha felt like a walking paradox. But Ilia had, for whatever reason, fallen for her. And everything between them had been perfect._

_And then they'd met Sun._

_At first, Pyrrha had to admit that she'd felt a little bit jealous of how much attention Ilia had been giving Sun when they'd met, but, by nature, Pyrrha wasn't a particularly jealous person, so she's pushed down the uncharacteristic feeling and just been happy that Ilia was making new friends after she'd lost... after she'd lost the only father she'd ever truly had._

_When she'd met Sun, she'd found him a bit odd and far too eccentric, but she'd enjoyed his cheerful, optimistic nature more than she'd expected. He reminded her of Nora in many ways, but she quickly got to know him better and saw all the ways he different from Pyrrha's teammate._

_Sun had latched onto Ilia and, soon after, Pyrrha when he'd joined their little group, and the two had been more than happy to introduce him to all of their friends and be his, for lack of a better word, mentors on how to survive and thrive as a part of the group._

_And then Sun had joined their team, officially making them team JNIPRS, a little while later. Pyrrha had been excited to have a new teammate, especially Sun. She'd enjoyed his company more than she had originally expected that she would, and he mixed surprisingly well with their team._

_Pyrrha was slow to develop feelings for him as well. The first time she'd thought about him in a romantic way had been when they'd landed in Menagerie so that Yang and Ruby could speak to Blake's parents and, secretly, ask them for their daughter's hand in marriage. Team JNIPRS had been together for most of the evening before Nora had made a flimsy excuse so that she could go make out with her boyfriends, leaving Pyrrha, Sun, and Ilia to their own devices._

_It had been a nice night, the three just hanging out and going to watch the sunset._

_Pyrrha had seen Sun's excitement and enthusiastic support of his friends and teammates from the day they'd met, but that night, she'd seen a calmer, more relaxed version of the monkey faunus, and she found herself thinking the most peculiar thought._

_Perhaps in another life where she hadn't met Ilia, she would have thought about dating him. The idea had crossed her mind when they'd been watching the sunset with Ilia sitting in the middle between them, Pyrrha's gaze locked on the monkey faunus as she thought._

_She'd immediately felt guilty and pulled Ilia closer to herself, as if the mere thought had been a betrayal to the woman she was in love with._

_But as time passed in Menagerie, Pyrrha found herself thinking that more and more, wondering if, had things been different, she and Sun would have gone out. It was a silly thought at the time, of course, as Sun had never expressed any romantic feelings toward her, and Pyrrha was in love with Ilia._

_But... things started to change, and Ilia seemed to not care, despite her usual jealousy that she displayed when other seemed taken with Pyrrha (whether it be Jaune or random men)._

_In fact, Ilia had seemed almost... excited? Almost excited at the idea of Sun getting closer and closer to the couple._

_And then the night came where they'd confessed._

_Pyrrha had been nervous and jumpy, glancing at her girlfriend guiltily every time she thought of Sun has anything more than a friend (which meant that she was watching her girlfriend most of the night with a small frown as she held Ilia's hand tighter and tighter)._

_But she'd seen only that same hesitant excitement from Ilia that she had been displaying since the first time they'd watched the sunset together._

_Pyrrha had slowly come to the realization as they sat on the grass where she'd first thought about Sun romantically... that she didn't **want** to have fallen in love with Sun in another universe and to be dating him there._

_She didn't want to entertain the idea that, in some other world, in some other timeline, she was with Sun, and he was kind and caring and funny and sweet and excitable... yet insightful enough to realize when Pyrrha needed to be brought out of her own head..._

_The point was that Pyrrha didn't want to think of that other universe, because she wanted that to be **this** universe. But she wasn't willing to give up what she had with Ilia, because she felt the same for both of them._

_And in that moment, she finally understood why Weiss had come scrambling into team JNPR's dorm room all that time ago complaining and panicking about what to do about her feelings fro all three of her teammates._

_And then Sun had shown how he felt toward them, and... Ilia hadn't been mad. In fact, she'd been, once again, excited._

_That had been the happiest day of Pyrrha's life because, once again, she'd gotten an amazing faunus that she didn't deserve to fall in love with her. And now the three of them were together._

_/_

Pyrrha smiled like a fool and shook her head.

"You know what, Blake?"

The cat faunus raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not worried anymore. I'm... I'm ready for whatever they want."

Blake gave her a wide smile and reached her hand out, patting Pyrrha on the shoulder.

"Ilia and Sun are lucky to have you."

"No. I'm lucky to have them."

-

"Tonight? You're doing it tonight?"

"Yup!"

Weiss pulled out her scroll.

-

Ruby reached her hand out and patted Rachel on top of the head, making the student laugh and slap playfully at her.

"If that's what you want, then make it happen. Anything can happen. Trust me of all people, I'm about to have a child with the two women I fell in love with."

Rachel laughed and rolled her eyes, starting to stand.

"Yeah, yeah. Plus, I'm the best! Who wouldn't want me?" Rachel winked playfully at Ruby before walking off.

Ruby rolled her eyes and pulled out her scroll, walking off to find her family.


	40. Always

Weiss let out a sigh of relief as she walked down the hall, almost colliding with an excited Pyrrha.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Are you alright, Weiss?" Pyrrha asked, putting one hand on the former heiress' shoulder and setting the other on her stomach worriedly.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"I'm fine, Pyrrha. What's got you so excited?"

Pyrrha gave her a kind smile.

"What _isn't_ there to be excited about?" she asked.

Weiss raised an eyebrow at the rather evasive answer, but she didn't push it.

"If you're looking for Blake, she went that way to find Ruby," the redhead said, giving Weiss her biggest smile.

"Thanks," she responded slowly, looking Pyrrha up and down.

"You sure there's nothing going on?"

Pyrrha just gave her a smile before hurrying off, calling a short goodbye over her shoulder.

Weiss frowned before making her way down the hallway, meeting Blake and Ruby a minute later.

"What's up with Pyrrha?"

"I don't know exactly. Started talking to me, something about needing relationship advice, and then she just ran off. I'm not sure what it was all about, really," Blake said.

Weiss nodded slowly before she shrugged, turning to an excited Ruby.

Weiss raised an eyebrow, which turned out to be all the encouragement that her wife needed to start speaking.

"Rachel came to me for advice and was talking about relationships too! She said she liked someone but didn't want to say who! Oh, I hope they get together!" Ruby said happily, leaning against Weiss.

"Someone's happy," Blake remarked, smiling down at her fondly.

"Yup! Seems like everyone's having romantic epiphanies lately!" Ruby said.

"Guess it's just the season," Weiss said.

"But... it's winter, Weiss. She's not very romantic," Ruby replied, smirking like her sister did when she made a bad pun.

The former heiress groaned.

"But Winter isn't the season, Sugar, Penny is. And Penny loves romance," Blake corrected, looping an arm around Ruby's waist gently.

Ruby laughed and leaned against her side joyfully.

"What's wrong with you two?" Weiss asked, rolling her eyes, although a small smile graced her lips as they started to walk toward the exit.

"A lot," Ruby said.

"Seven things?" Blake offered.

Weiss slapped her on the arm.

"Right, my mistake, they're not **mistakes** , but surprises," Blake said. "That better?"

Weiss nodded primly, making the faunus roll her eyes.

-

Coco said goodbye to Yang, who promptly took off at a run toward the school, saying something about catching up to her wives and sister before they left without her in the car.

Coco rolled her eyes before her gaze landed back on the ring box in her hands, which she had been idly fidgeting with since she'd gotten it.

Maybe Yang was right. She really should have a plan for asking the question, but no ideas came to her. Dust, she didn't even know _when_ she should pop the question!

Was today too soon? Probably. Maybe next week? She had to do it some time before the _seven_ children were born so that they wouldn't draw any attention from team RWBY, who would need all the help they could get. Plus, it would just be rude to do it then.

Maybe next week sounded good. She should probably get a reservation to a fancy restaurant or something of the like. Maybe they should go for a romantic walk through the halls of Beacon, where they'd first fallen in love? That sounded good.

As Coco thought about it, she heard footsteps in front of her, and her eyes darted up to find-

"Velvet?!" she cried, scrambling to shove the ring box back into her pocket before the faunus could catch sight of it.

Coco assumed she was successful, because Velvet didn't mention the box when she reached her.

"Hey, Coco! I was wondering where you'd been!" she said happily, stopping as she reached her.

Coco set her hands on Velvet's waist gently, smiling down at her.

"Just thinking about you, Honey Bun," she said.

Velvet rolled her eyes, but there was a fond smile on her face as she leaned closer to Coco.

"You better not have been messing around with Yang. She's a married woman, you know."

 _And soon enough you will be too,_ Coco thought, fighting off a blush at the words.

"Oh, you know that you're my one and only, Velvs. Stop worrying about **that**."

Velvet gave her a fond smile before she reached her hand down, threading their fingers together as she pulled away from the embrace.

"So, what did you two do?"

"Just talk about you." Velvet raised an eyebrow at her. "What?! It's true!" Coco cried.

Velvet laughed and rolled her eyes, leaning against Coco's shoulders.

"If you say so."

"I **do** say so, Honey Bun, now stop being so suspicious," Coco said, reaching her hand up to poke the faunus on the nose.

Velvet let out a laugh and relaxed against her side as the two walked down the street.

Meanwhile, Coco was internally freaking out, wondering what she was going to do and when and how and... well, suffice to say she had a lot to worry about, but it all revolved around one thing.

Velvet.

-

Rachel rolled her eyes and let out a sigh as she paced back and forth.

She was outside team ORIN's dorm room, letting out a frustrated sigh as she ran a hand through her hair, replaying her conversation with Ruby in her head.

She shook her head and spun to face the door, grabbing the handle and turning as she stepped in with her normal confidence at full display.

"Hey, losers," she said, shooting Ivy a wink as she sauntered over to her bed and plopped down, pulling out a book from her backpack.

Natalie let out a sound of outrage before throwing something at Rachel.

Rachel let out a grunt as she strengthened her arm, absorbing the pencil that attempted to embed itself in her skin.

"That's just rude, Nat. Ives, control your girlfriend."

Ivy giggled noncommittally, and Rachel found herself wondering if her teammate had even heard what she'd said.

"Oh, Rach, your girlfriend stopped by," Natalie said, not looking up from her homework as she started to scribble on the paper.

"I don't have a girlfriend, Nat," Rachel said. "People just think I do, cause I have chemistry with everyone. I'm like one of those super reactive elements. What're they called again, Ives?"

"Halogens. Elements like fluorine and iodine," Ivy said distantly, falling back against her own bed and starting to stare up at the ceiling. "They have seven valence electrons, which means that-"

"We know what it means, Ives, you told us that ten times," Oscar said.

Natalie rolled her eyes, gaze landing on Rachel.

"Alea sure seems to be having chemistry with you," she said.

Rachel scoffed.

"She wishes!"

Natalie watched her for a long moment, eyes narrowing just slightly.

"Is that really how to treat people who like you?" the faunus asked.

Rachel hesitated.

"What's it to you, Nat?"

The faunus glared at her for a moment before she turned back to her homework.

"Nothing, I guess."

There was a beat of silence in the room and Rachel internally cursed. That might not have been the way she wanted that conversation to go.

Ivy rolled over in her bed suddenly, tilting her head to the side as she stared at Rachel.

"Have you ever dated anyone, Rachel?" Ivy asked suddenly.

Rachel let out a scoff, giving her an easy grin.

"Course I have, Ives. I'm a heart breaker and everything, remember?"

"You'd have to be more likable to be one of those," Natalie replied, not looking up from her work.

Rachel winced at the words. Those were _certainly_ not as playful as they normally were. Their banter seemed to have taken a turn, and she didn't like that at all.

"What's your problem?" Rachel asked.

Oscar glanced at his teammates nervously, shifting up to a sitting position and muttering to himself something that Rachel thought sounded like "all the guys think it's all fun and games to have three female teammates until the drama starts."

Rachel glanced over her shoulder and rolled her eyes at him pointedly.

"We're not having drama, Ozzy boy."

"Drama's a type of television genre," Ivy chimed in.

"See? We're not a television genre, Ozzy," Rachel added, grinning a self satisfied smirk when Ivy gave her a small smile to let her know that she'd understood her correctly.

Rachel was starting to get better at that, which was always entertaining. It was almost exciting to understand what her teammate meant by all of those weird comments of hers. It was so complex. It took Rachel a few seconds to decode the words that Ivy said naturally. They thought so differently that it was almost entrancing.

"I don't have a problem, but you seem to," Natalie said, glancing up and staring pointedly at Rachel. "She's a nice girl, you know, and you just tossed her aside like she was nothing."

Rachel's eyes widened.

"That's really what this is about? Dust, Nat, I'll tell her I'm not interested next time I see her."

"That's not the point," Natalie snapped, eyes blazing as she slammed her textbook closed, either because it had been on fire or because she was angry. Rachel wasn't completely sure.

"Then what's it about, Natalie?!" she cried back in response, slamming her hand against the bed.

"You're always so... so flippant about other people's feelings! It's like we're all just here as pawns that you can play with for your own personal amusement! Well, news flash, we **aren't**!" Natalie snapped.

Ivy suddenly sat up, her eyes becoming clear as she looked between her two female teammates quickly.

"Did you know that arguments with yelling take twice as long to resolve?" she said.

"That's not true," Natalie replied, not taking her eyes off of Rachel.

Rachel was gaping at Natalie like she'd grown a second head.

"What are you talking about?! I'm not like that!" she cried.

Natalie rolled her eyes.

"Oh, spare me, Rachel. If it's not about you, you don't care. You make someone like you, and you throw them aside!" Natalie cried.

"I'm starting to think this isn't about Alea," Oscar said as he uncomfortably looked at his teammates.

"Yeah, I got that," Rachel said, glaring back at Natalie darkly. "I don't know _what's_ upsetting you, but maybe we should address _that_ instead of whatever you think is going on with Alea."

Natalie threw her hands up in exasperation, rolling her eyes.

"Of course, because something has to be wrong with _me_ for me to be angry at you. Because nobody could _possibly_ be mad at the great and wonderful Rachel Fern!"

Rachel frowned in confusion, but didn't let her glare ease.

"What's got you all worked up?!" she snapped.

Ivy reached her hand out toward Natalie's knee, but the faunus flinched away.

Natalie opened her mouth, about to speak, but suddenly it snapped shut. The faunus hurried to her feet and raced out of the room, slamming the door behind her on the way out.

"Is it just me," Rachel said after a moment of awkward silence, "or did that make no dust damn sense?"

-

Pyrrha all but skipped down the hall, opening the JNIPRS dorm room door with a wide smile on her face, twirling inside.

"Someone's in a good mood," Jaune said.

Pyrrha smiled at him as she walked toward where Sun and Ilia were seated.

"Yes, I am," she said before leaning down and grabbing Sun by the shirt collar, lifting him up and kissing him soundly. His tail reached up and grabbed her around the neck gently, pulling her down closer and wrapping his arms around her waist.

After a long moment, the pair pulled apart and Pyrrha turned to face Ilia, giving her a wide smile.

The chameleon faunus had a shocked look on her face, but it soon turned excited as Pyrrha reached down, grabbing her around the waist and lifting the chameleon faunus into the air to get better access to her mouth.

Ilia made a pleased humming against her mouth, looping her legs around the redhead's waist and grabbing her around the neck with both hands, reaching one up to run through her hair.

When the two pulled away, Pyrrha smiled at her boyfriend and girlfriend, leaning closer.

"I love you two," she whispered.

"We love you too," they said together, Ilia moving closer and letting her head fall against Pyrrha's neck gently.

"What makes you say it now?" Sun asked, reaching his tail forward to wrap around Pyrrha's waist, dragging her forward until she let herself fall into her lap. He grabbed her in his arms, reaching one hand up to play with Ilia's hair.

"I should always say it," Pyrrha said gently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My readers: Oh my gosh! They post so fast! How do they do it?!  
> *meanwhile*  
> Me: *takes a break from writing in the middle of a word to start singing to my song at full volume, holding hands up like they're holding a microphone* *starts dancing*


	41. Winging It

"I... I'll go after her. I'm not sure what's going on, but it's clearly my fault. Not a surprise, I'm pretty annoying," Rachel said, standing up and hurrying toward the door.

Ivy hesitated and she looked up at Rachel.

"You coming, Ives?" she asked.

"You should go first," Ivy said. "I'll be there when I should."

"Nice and creepy," Rachel shot a wink at her. "I love it. Keep it up."

Ivy gave her a small smile, watching the small girl go.

When the door had fallen shut, Oscar turned to face Ivy, frowning.

"What just happened?" he asked.

Ivy shrugged and started to speak.

-

Natalie wrapped her wings around herself, taking a seat on a bench and shook her head. She brought up her knees to her chest, letting her wings envelope around herself with a shake of the head.

What was wrong with her?

She shouldn't have said anything, and she really shouldn't have yelled at Rachel, but...

Her eyes picked up slightly so that she could peek over her wings at the sound of footsteps.

"What do you want, Rachel?" she asked, shaking her head in frustration.

"To know why you're so upset with me."

Natalie rolled her eyes, that anger from before riling up inside of her again as she pulled her wings in closer to herself.

"And before you say that it's all about me, I just wanted to say that I wanted to know how I could fix it. Ya know, so that you can be happier and I can have my pal back," Rachel said awkwardly, her foot coming forward to scuff against the ground.

Natalie unfurled her wings just slightly so that she could look at the other girl.

"It's stupid," she muttered.

"So am I, what's your point?" Rachel asked, giving her a slightly playful smile as she leaned against the other girl's wing gently.

Natalie let out a long breath, shaking her head in frustration.

"I really don't want to talk about it," Natalie said.

"Neither do I, but this is important, and I'm not going to let something stupid come in between us."

Natalie scoffed and rolled her eyes, her wings subconsciously coming closer to surround her completely.

"Hey! Stop that!" Rachel called, reaching one hand up to tap against the metallic wings in front of her. "Don't literally close yourself off."

Natalie poked her head out just slightly, a small smile growing across her lips as she looked at her.

"So what's got you so mad at me? I mean, I'm sure it's perfectly valid, but what is it, cause I'm kinda lost."

Natalie scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"It's more of... my issue, I guess," she muttered.

"What's up?" Rachel asked. "I can probably help. Or at least commiserate with you."

Natalie let out a sigh, shaking her head and ducking down further into her wings.

"Alright! That's it!" Rachel cried.

Natalie let out a sound of shock as Rachel stood up on the bench and jumped up on top of the wings.

Natalie stared in shock as Rachel stuck her head between the metallic wings, starting to scramble inside.

"What the heck are you doing?!" Natalie cried.

"I'm coming in there!" Rachel shouted.

She wiggled inside and plopped down in Natalie's lap, staring up at her.

Natalie's face turned a bright red and she barely stopped herself from starting a fire.

Rachel moved to the side and sat down on Natalie's wings that she had wrapped around the two of them. Most people wouldn't be able to fit in the wings with Natalie, but Rachel was small enough to do so.

Natalie stared down at her in complete shock.

"What's wrong with you?" Natalie asked, a small laugh breaking through.

"A lot," Rachel replied, rolling her eyes. "Now spill and tell me what's wrong with you. Or you can yell at me."

Natalie raised an eyebrow.

"You want me to yell at you?"

"If it makes you tell me what's wrong quicker? Then yes, Nat. Yell at me. Scream at me. Punch me!"

Natalie let out a quiet laugh and shook her head.

"Alright," Natalie paused and took a deep breath. "What's wrong with you?! You push away everyone that tries to get close to you with jokes and banter! You never let anyone in! What's your problem?! You made Alea like you and then you just _threw her away_! You pretend you like people but then you push them away from you!"

Rachel took a moment to think.

"Is this like rhetorical or do you want me to answer?"

Natalie glared at her.

"I guess I'm just not really good with people, and I just try to connect with jokes. And I just... I didn't like her, alright?!" Rachel started to twiddle her thumbs with a small sigh.

"If you don't like someone like that, then just let then go! Stop playing with their hearts and just _tell them, Rachel_!" Natalie cried.

Rachel hesitated.

"Okay, what's this really about? I get that I should tell her that I don't like her like that, and I will! But... what's your real problem here?"

Natalie looked away from Rachel.

"Just tell me honestly. Why did you flirt with her? Was it all just a game to you? Playing with that poor girl's feelings?!"

Rachel winced and brought her legs up closer to her chest in the small space.

"I just... I just wanted to impress you guys. Show you that I could be charming, you know?"

Rachel fidgeted more while Natalie stared at her.

"So that's why you flirt with everyone?"

"With everyone? Nat, I don't flirt with everyone!"

Natalie threw her hands up and fell back further against the wall with a loud sigh.

"Oh. Then I guess... never mind. It doesn't matter."

Rachel frowned and pulled a bit closer to the other girl.

"What do you mean? I really don't flirt with everyone. Who do you think I've been flirting with?"

"Let's just... forget it, okay? Let's just go back to the dorm room and never talk about it again."

"What?! No way! This is important!"

There was a knocking on the metallic wings, which caused both girls to let out shocked sounds and jump.

"Open up," Ivy said gently.

Natalie's wing opened just slightly, which allowed for Ivy to scramble inside.

She grabbed Natalie's hand before reaching forward to take Rachel's.

"Rachel, Natalie thinks you've been flirting with her for the past few weeks."

Rachel's eyes widened and they shot to Natalie, who flushed and looked away.

"And Natalie, Rachel started flirting with Alea so that she could impress you with how good she is at flirting because she likes you."

Rachel flushed after that and shook her head, eyes wide.

"What? No way!"

Ivy stared at her blankly.

"Yes, because I'm _so_ wrong with my semblance _all_ the time," Ivy said.

Rachel, in most circumstances, would have laughed and been excited that Ivy had made a sarcastic joke, but this situation was _not_ right for that.

Natalie stared at Rachel in utter shock.

"Really?"

Rachel moved closer to the edge of the wings, pulling her knees to her chest.

"She didn't stop flirting with Alea because she wanted to show you that she had other options, Natalie. Although it's a _horrible_ plan that she didn't even realize she was doing until earlier this morning. And Natalie likes you too, Rachel, and she was jealous that you kept flirting with someone else."

"She... she what? She likes...," Rachel trailed off and stared at Natalie and Ivy.

"And Natalie, don't freak out, I'm not upset," Ivy said.

Natalie stared at her for a long moment before she reached out to wrap her arm around Ivy's waist to pull her closer.

"Oh, and don't freak out cause I know you get jealous, but she likes me too," Ivy said, leaning forward to give Natalie a chaste kiss.

Rachel looked up at the small opening in the top of the wings, wondering if she could jump up and wiggle out of the wings quickly. She was flushing deeply and hoping that she could escape before she had to deal with this.

But she hesitated as the words caught up with her.

Natalie... liked her.

The faunus pulled her wings closer and closed the final option of escape off before Rachel could even attempt.

"Don't even think about it, Rach."

The smaller girl let out an awkward laugh.

"No idea what you're talking about, Nat."

" _That_ was your plan?! Showing me you're good girlfriend material by, what, just leaving some girl hanging?!" Natalie cried.

Rachel winced.

"This might be a shock to you, but I really didn't think that one all the way through."

Natalie held in a laugh, schooling her features quickly.

There was a beat of silence before Ivy's eyes widened comically.

"Oh dust, I forgot to say that I like you too, Rachel."

Rachel tried to play cool, but a wide grin spread across her face and she almost let out a loud whoop of victory.

Natalie pulled her wings impossibly closer and caused Rachel to be pushed flush against the other two girls, making her flush a light shade of red.

"Is this the part where you offer me a spot in your relationship or do I need to go seduce a couple more of our classmates?" Rachel asked with an awkward smile.

Natalie rolled her eyes.

"Oh my dust, just shut up for once," she breathed, reaching her arms out and wrapping them around Rachel as she pulled her closer, connecting their lips gently.

Rachel let out a sound of shock before she melted into the embrace, arms reaching up to grab Natalie's collar and pull her down further.

Natalie pulled back and let out a giggle.

"What is it, flame face?" Rachel asked, a fond smile on her face.

"You're just so short," Natalie said, shaking her head.

Rachel shoved her in the face and all but fell into Ivy's lap, looping her arms around her neck.

"Hey. Come here often?" she asked.

Ivy giggled and leaned down, running her hands through Rachel's hair as they kissed.

Rachel deepened the kiss and pulled Ivy impossibly closer.

When they finally separated, Natalie let her wings unfurl, the three standing up as they started to head toward the dorm room.

Rachel grabbed Natalie in one hand and Ivy in the other, situating herself in the middle with a wide smile on her face.

Natalie stooped dramatically so that she was slightly closer to Rachel's head.

Rachel let out a suffering sigh.

"How did I fall for you?" she asked.

"Because you aren't very far from the ground, Rach."

Rachel let out another sigh, setting her head on Ivy's shoulder.

"Why do we put up with her?"

"She's kinda cute," Ivy said, and the pair let out a quiet laugh together while Natalie shook her head fondly.


	42. Chivalrous

Velvet pulled Coco down the street, making her let out a confused sound.

"Where are we going, Velvs? Our dorm's that way."

"I know where our dorm room is, Coco," Velvet said with a quiet giggle. "That's not where we're going."

Coco frowned slightly, but she shrugged and was pulled after the other girl.

"Okay, lead the way!"

Velvet grinned and pulled her quickly, the two breaking into a run.

"Where are we going, Velvs?"

"You'll see!"

Coco laughed and shook her head, taking off her sunglasses with one hand and pushing them into her pocket, running her fingers across the ring box.

Maybe tonight, wherever they were going, would be a good time to put the ring into use, even if she'd just gotten it.

-

Rachel was about to grab the door handle and walk into the dorm room, but Natalie grabbed her around the waist and lifted her into the air, letting out a quiet laugh.

Rachel let out a sound of shock and wiggled in her grasp.

"What are you doing, fire face?!" she cried, squirming more and trying to get out of her arms. "Ivy! Help me!"

Ivy didn't seem to notice, a fond smile on her face as she watched the two.

"You really are so short," Natalie said, lifting her up higher and holding her tighter.

"Just put me down!" Rachel snapped, slapping playfully at Natalie's hands as she tried to escape, but she didn't fight at her full strength obviously.

"Nope! You're small enough that I can just put you on a shelf and you'll be too scared to jump down for the rest of the day."

"First of all, I'm a Huntress in training, I was literally thrown through the air my first day at school, and second of all, I'm _not_ that small!" Rachel cried, finally getting out of Natalie's arms and falling almost a foot to the ground, almost stumbling. She grabbed the door and shoved it open, stalking in with a bemused Natalie following after her. "Right, Ives?"

There was a beat of silence.

"You're pocket sized for our convenience," she said finally.

"I will bite you," Rachel said.

"Slow down, we just started dating, Rach," Natalie said, making the other girl flush and roll her eyes.

"That's not what I meant, and don't get ideas before I start thinking you actually _are_ a vampire, Nat," she said.

The faunus slapped her arm, rolling her eyes/

Oscar scrambled out of his bed and hurried toward his teammates.

"What happened?!" he asked worriedly, skidding to a stop and looking down at Rachel worriedly.

"These two got the _perfect_ girlfriend," Rachel said, causing Ivy to giggle and wrap her arms around the other girl's waist, putting her chin on top of her head.

Rachel almost sunk into the embrace, but her eyes widened.

"Hey, hey! Get away from me! No more short jokes at my expense!" Rachel snapped, starting to pull away.

"I know you're happy," Ivy mumbled and held her tighter.

"What?" Oscar asked, eyes wide.

"I wouldn't say a perfect girlfriend, considering she's pretty annoying," Natalie said, pointing at Rachel, who gave her a flirtatious wink and a wide grin.

"Takes one to know one, Nat."

"I thought you liked me," Natalie said as she headed toward her bed and homework.

"Doesn't mean you're perfect, babe," she said as she leaned back further into Ivy's arms, reaching up to the tips of her toes and connecting their lips.

Oscar watched the three with a wide smile on his face.

"I'm really happy for you three!" he said. "Now Rachel can finally stop being the only single one in the group."

"You're dating someone?" Rachel asked, raising an eyebrow. "It's not like you mention him a thousand times a day."

Natalie let out a chuckle and gave Rachel a wry grin as they all took their seats.

-

Velvet pulled to a stop as they reached the edge of the forest.

"Are you trying to get me killed?" Coco asked. "Cause I'd rather not get eaten by a Grimm."

Velvet laughed and rolled her eyes, pulling the other girl forward toward the woods.

"No, you'll be _fine._ After all, you're a huntress now aren't you? You can keep your lady safe," the faunus said with a small smile on her face as she turned around, walking backwards as she dragged her girlfriend further into the woods.

"Yeah, yeah. Maybe _you_ should be the one keeping your lady safe," Coco said.

"Oh, so I'm supposed to be the gentleman of the evening?" Velvet asked with a small smirk on her face.

"Ew, gross. You know men are disgusting," Coco said.

"Fine. I'll be the chivalrous one of the evening," Velvet offered with a small smirk.

Coco raised an eyebrow.

"I can be down with that."

Velvet gave her a wide smile as they headed further into the forestry.

Suddenly, the pair reached a large open clearing, the moonlight reaching into it with a glistening glow that made Coco gasp in shock.

"This place is beautiful," she said gently.

Velvet flushed and lowered her voice, wanting to sound more like Coco playfully.

"Not as much as you are," she said.

Coco watched her with a fond light in her eyes as Velvet hurried to the edge of the clearing to grab a picnic basket, which she set down on a small blanket.

Coco reached into her pocket and ran her fingers along the box's edge.

Tonight was the night.


	43. The Proposal

Coco glanced around the forestry with a nervous air to her gaze, wondering if there were any distractions or Grimm that would be capable of destroying her proposal. She'd been eating with Velvet for a little while, and it seemed like the faunus was setting her up _perfectly_ , almost like she **expected** there to be a proposal on Coco's end.

She'd set up a romantic evening under the moonlight, gotten them a picnic, made it private and away from large crowds (which Velvet always got nervous in), and had started to discuss old times.

Coco was starting to wonder if Velvet was trying to convince her to propose!

-

Rachel was sprawled out on Natalie's bed, making the faunus huff.

"For a tiny person, you sure take up a lot of room," she said, shoving Rachel some.

Rachel laughed and turned, wrapping her arms around Ivy's waist.

"What can I say? I have a big personality."

"Sadly," Natalie muttered, rolling her eyes at the other girl.

Rachel stuck out her tongue at the other girl.

"For some reason, you like it," she pointed out.

The faunus huffed and rolled her eyes sufferingly.

"And for the life of me I can't figure out why."

Ivy reached her hand down and set it on Rachel's arm, starting to giggle.

"What's up, Ives?" Natalie asked, glancing at her pair of girlfriends.

Ivy reached her hand up to cup Natalie's face, and the faunus suddenly started to grin.

"What?" Rachel asked, but she got her answer soon after as images flashed through her head.

-

"You and I have been together for a while," Velvet said, fidgeting slightly from her place across from Coco, starting to twiddle her thumbs.

 _Dust, does she want me to propose now? I thought I'd wait until maybe the walk home or... or at least when she stops **talking**. She's not giving me a chance to say what I need to say!_ Coco thought to herself, scrambling to remember exactly what her internal speech had been about. She'd planned some of what she wanted to say to Velvet, but she hadn't really thought she was going to propose tonight until they'd gotten her.

As always, Velvet had turned her world upside down unexpectedly. At some point, you'd think that Coco would get used to it, but part of the beauty was that she didn't think she ever would.

Velvet would always just surprise her in new and adorable ways...

 _Dust, she's looking at me funny,_ Coco thought, realizing she hadn't responded to the other woman's words when she should have.

"And I've loved every second of it, Velvs."

That seemed to calm the faunus some, and she shot Coco a fond look, moving a bit closer.

Coco started to move her arm to wrap it around Velvet, but the other girl stayed just out of reach, as if she was planning on pulling away at any moment.

Coco didn't know if she should be worried by that fact.

 _Maybe she just wants to give me room for when I promise instead of making me pull away to do it,_ Coco thought to herself, watching her girlfriend with a bit of wariness in her gaze.

Velvet gave her an awkward smile and started to fidget again.

"I really love you, Coco, and I've loved our time together, but with everyone around us moving on with their relationships and taking it to the next step, I've started to think that..."

Coco's eyes widened and she spoke before she could stop herself.

"Are you breaking up with me?!"

-

Rachel's eyes widened in horror as she felt Ivy sifting through different memories with a sort of deftness that could only come from years of practice.

Rachel let out a nervous laugh and started to pull away.

"What are you doing there, Ives?" she asked.

Natalie reached her wing out and closed off Rachel's exit from the bed with ease.

"Did you know that most people can't remember anything that happened to them before the age of three?"

_/_

_Rachel was sitting in Winter and Weiss' class, one of the most boring ones to her, considering she hardly ever used dust, which made the theoretical dust studying part of her day more than a bit boring._

_She let her head fall onto her arms, which she had folded in front of herself. In her boredom, she glanced to the side and found her gaze falling on Ivy and Natalie._

_The couple was sitting closely, Natalie's arm draped around Ivy's shoulders loosely while they pretended to be giving Ms. Schnee their entire attention._

_Suddenly, Ivy started to giggle and she leaned closer to Natalie, setting a hand on hers. A moment later, the faunus struggled to hold in a laugh. They were communicating something silently, and Rachel felt her stomach starting to churn._

_She didn't know what was wrong with her. She should be happy for her friends, dust knows they were made for one another, but there was an almost empty feeling in her stomach, as if their happiness was eating at her._

_Rachel frowned in confusion, shaking her head and looking away._

_She was happy for them, really, she was._

_But there was just something about the way Natalie held her girlfriend so gently that set Rachel's mind into a spiral of confusion. Something about the Ivy set her head on her girlfriend's shoulder and looked at her with the kind of clarity in her gaze that she so rarely showed that made Rachel's heart sink._

_She shook her head forcefully and made herself pay attention to the boring lecture that Winter was giving at the front of the class._

_/_

_Natalie rolled her eyes and playfully shoved Rachel as they walked down the hallway._

_"Some I'm **not** your type, huh?" the faunus asked._

_Rachel rolled her eyes._

_"Won't you just let that go?" she asked, her playful voice not conveying her inner panic in the slightest._

_"No way. You know why?"_

_"Oh, do enlighten me, I wish ever so much to know how that thing you call a brain works," Rachel replied, sarcasm coating her words. Despite her tone, Rachel worried that Natalie would be able to tell just how much she meant what she'd said._

_Natalie rolled her eyes and shook her head._

_"I won't let it go because I'm a little insulted! I like to think that I'm at least a **little** charming, Rach."_

_"Oh, I can assure you that you're not."_

_'Because you're **very** charming,' Rachel thought, but she wouldn't dare say it out loud. She didn't even know why she'd thought it in the first place!_

_Natalie made an offended sound, glancing down at her with a smirk that Rachel thought was just a little bit forced (but she knew that was more than likely wishful thinking)._

_/_

_"Did you know that approximately seventy-one percent of the planet is covered in water?"_

_"I did **not** know that, Ives. Why would anyone just randomly know that?"_

_"Because knowledge is the most important thing in the world," Ivy replied, looking perplexed by the question as she tilted her head just slightly to the side._

_She looked like an adorable little puppy when she did that. Rachel vaguely wondered if Natalie would call that racist or agree with her._

_"Is that so?" Rachel asked, leaning just a little closer to the other girl._

_Ivy nodded eagerly and moved toward her as well, a brilliant grin on her face._

_"Then maybe you should teach me some things," Rachel said, heart racing in her chest. That had been too far, hadn't it? She'd shown her hand just a little bit too much._

_Ivy's smile widened and her gaze stayed locked on Rachel, which was rare. Normally, Ivy was looking around at anything and everything she could find in the room, ignoring whoever she was speaking to with her gaze (unless it was Natalie... and, right now at least, Rachel)._

_"Did you know that most of the ocean is still unexplored?" Ivy asked._

_'So many things never will be,' Rachel thought, trying and failing to tear her gaze away from Ivy's own._

_/_

There were a myriad of memories that flashed through Rachel's might, and, when they'd stopped, she was sure that Natalie and Ivy had seen them. Ivy because she was smiling fondly at Rachel and Natalie because she was laughing uncontrollably.

"Oh my dust, Rach! You were a mess!" she said once she'd gotten her breath back.

Rachel crossed her arms and blew a bit of her hair out of her face, scowling at the pair.

"Whatever, I was still better than you were when you fell for Ivy."

"That's such a low bar, though," Oscar called from the other room. "You can't get much worse than that."

Rachel smirked and Natalie rolled her eyes sufferingly at the pair.

Ivy leaned closer to Rachel.

"I think it was very cute," she said.

Natalie grinned and leaned closer.

"Definitely cute," the faunus agreed, causing a small smile to grow on Rachel's lips. "And also hilarious."

Rachel slapped her arm.

-

Velvet's eyes widened in shock.

"Wh-Coco?! What?! Of course I'm not breaking up with you! What... are you thinking about that-"

Coco shook her head quickly, relief flooding her.

"No! Of course not!" she agreed, reaching forward to set her hand on Velvet's own. "You've just been acting kind of different tonight and then you were talking about relationships and you were nervous..."

Coco found herself trailing off as Velvet sat up straighter, dislodging Coco's hand.

"Coco, of course I'm not breaking up with you. I love you, and... well, the reason I'm acting weird is that I... I never want to break up with you, which is... a really weird way to get into this topic, but... what I'm trying to say is," Velvet reached one hand out to grab Coco's, the other reaching toward her pocket, "that I love you, and you're the best thing that has ever happened to me. You're kind and smart and funny... you're everything I always wanted to find in a partner, which is why I wanted to ask you..."

Velvet pulled her hand out of her pocket and raised her sitting position so that she was resting on her knee in front of Coco, one foot in front of her and planted on the ground.

"Would you marry me?"

Coco stared with silent shock, eyes wide. She couldn't even speak for a solid minute.

Velvet's ears drooped down slightly and she folded in on herself.

"Y-you don't have to say yes. We can keep dating even if you don't want to get marri-"

Coco shook her head quickly, both to dispel Velvet's worries and to make herself start working again.

"No! I mean yes! I mean no I don't want to not marry you...," Coco let out a sigh and shook her head and took a deep breath. "I mean... I would love to marry you, Velvet, it's just... I was shocked because..."

Coco brought a slightly shaking hand into her pocket and pulled out her ring box with a small smile on her face.

"I was actually going to propose tonight. I just got the ring and..."

Coco let out a quiet laugh while Velvet grinned at her.

She opened the ring box for Coco to see, and she gasped.

"I can't believe you were going to propose!" Velvet said.

Coco started to laugh louder.

"I thought you were setting up tonight to try and convince me to propose."

Velvet shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"What? I can't be the one that proposes? We decided that I was going to be the chivalrous almost gentlemanly one tonight," Velvet said.

Coco shook her head and leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Velvet's neck and connected their lips.

Velvet grabbed her around the waist and pulled her even closer.

By the time they'd finished, Velvet had reached her arm up to knock the other girl's hat onto her head gently.

"I love you," Velvet breathed.

"I love you too," Coco said gently.

Velvet reached her hand down to grab Coco's own, grabbing the ring and slipping it onto Coco's finger.

Coco stared down at it with a wide grin before she fumbled for the ring she'd gotten for Velvet, which she shakily slid onto the faunus' finger.

Tonight was _definitely_ the best night of their lives.


	44. The High Five

Weiss let out a tired sigh and dramatically fell against Yang's side as they walked toward the house.

"What, you want me to carry you, Angel?" Yang asked, raising an eyebrow with a wide smile on her face.

"Well, you never did carry me across the threshold," Weiss said, giving Yang a fond smile.

"Oh, how dare I?" Yang replied, reaching down to pick up Weiss around the waist and lifting her into the air.

Weiss let out a sound of shock, making Yang laugh while Blake rolled her eyes.

"Angel, you should know better than to say something like that and not expect her to pick you up," the faunus said, grabbing Ruby by the hand and opening the door.

Yang dramatically stepped inside, making Weiss laugh and roll her eyes.

"You're so dramatic."

"You've cut me to my core, Angel," Yang replied, grinning down at her.

Blake wrapped her arms around Ruby's stomach loosely, making the team leader fall against her.

"You know, when you grab my stomach like that, it makes me wonder if you're trying to hold me or the babies," Ruby said.

"I love all four of you, Sugar. Why can't it be bo-"

Blake cut off suddenly, here eyes going wide and her grip tightening on Ruby's stomach.

"Was that..."

Ruby nodded silently, her face a classic picture of shock.

"Yeah," she breathed.

"And that was the first time..."

Ruby slowly nodded once again, still mute as she looked down at her stomach in shock.

"What was the first time? What happened?" Yang asked worriedly, setting down Weiss gently, but swiftly.

"Kick. It was the first kick," Ruby said, reaching her hand up to cradle her stomach gently.

Yang's eyes widened in shock and she scrambled toward the pair.

"Wow, really?! You felt a kick?!" she cried, reaching her hand up gently to touch her sister's stomach.

Ruby nodded enthusiastically.

"Right against Blake's hand!"

The faunus had a foolish grin on her face as she leaned closer.

"That's awesome!" Yang cried. "What are the chances?!"

"I don't think it was luck," Ruby said, leaning back so that she could look up at Blake fondly. "I think they knew their mom was there!"

Blake's smile widened and she let out a breathless laugh, shaking her head.

"Oh my dust," she said gently, pulling Ruby even closer.

Weiss suddenly seemed to be shocked out of her stupor and she hurried forward.

"Isn't that amazing, Weiss?!" Ruby said happily, bouncing up and down just slightly.

The former heiress nodded slowly.

"Yeah... it's incredible," she breathed, putting one hand on Ruby's stomach while the other subconsciously reached up to her own.

"It's almost like they little foot touched my hand!" Blake said excitedly.

"Which one do you think it was?" Yang asked.

"It doesn't matter," Blake breathed. It felt as if it was all finally real, like they were getting _so close_! Both Ruby and Weiss were about nine and a half weeks pregnant now, which was a little bit early for a first kick from the baby, but that could easily be a result of the dust they'd used.

Blake was about to move and suggest that Ruby lay down, her protectiveness kicking into high gear once again, but she stopped in her tracks when-

"Another one!" Ruby cried excitedly.

"Hey! I felt that one!" Yang exclaimed enthusiastically.

Blake let out a laugh of excitement.

"Me too!" she cried.

Weiss set her hand on Ruby's stomach and another kick hit her hand.

Suddenly the excitement filled her. She understood why her wives had been all but shaking with enthusiasm.

Weiss wiped at her eyes to clean them of tears.

"That's amazing," she breathed.

"I'm sure they're gonna start kicking soon too, Weiss," Ruby said, gesturing vaguely at the other girl's stomach.

Weiss shrugged.

"I haven't actually felt anything from them before," she said, shaking her head.

"Well, you're getting close to your second trimester," Blake said slowly. "I'm sure that something will happen soon."

"And you're probably going to complain _constantly_ about it. I mean, you are carrying four little babies in there," Yang said, reaching forward to tap Weiss ever so gently in the stomach, grinning at her. Her fingers were splayed out and her whole palm was set against the stomach.

"That's just insan-"

Just as Yang was about to pull away, a tiny bump against the middle of Yang's hand.

"Oh my dust! My baby just gave me a high five!" Yang cried enthusiastically, pulling closer to Weiss, who was gaping down at her stomach.

"Really?!" Ruby cried, racing forward with Blake to hold onto Weiss.

"I think that was probably a kick-"

Yang waved her hand to silence her faunus wife, who rolled her eyes fondly at the action.

"It was a high five, this baby is going to be awesome, just like all the others."

Weiss smiled fondly.

"Yeah... they are," she breathed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just realized that in a soulmate AU where you can hear your soulmate's voice in your head...
> 
> Ciel would think she didn't have a soulmate because Neo literally doesn't have a voice.
> 
> Ciel: *speaks*  
> Neo: *having a seizure and trying to sign that Ciel is her soulmate while in handcuffs being dragged away*  
> Penny: Are you okay, Friend Ciel?  
> Ciel: I think that homeless criminal just flipped me off.


	45. Questions

Natalie rolled her eyes and glanced down at Rachel.

"Alright, gotta ask, since apparently you've been secretly in love with me for the past five weeks," Rachel let out a sound of protest, reaching up to slap Natalie's arm, "I need to know why you told me on at least eight separate occasions that I 'wasn't your type.'"

Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Does it matter? Because, which came as a big surprise to me," Natalie glared at her, "you're actually my type. Who would have thought that I was into goth emo faunus girls that more than likely still have trust issues? Oh, and also girls that may or may not belong in mental asylums," Rachel said, giving Ivy a playful wink. Ivy rolled her eyes and pulled closer to Natalie, drawing herself away from Rachel.

"It definitely matters," Natalie said, raising an eyebrow as she looked down at her new girlfriend.

Rachel flushed slightly and tore her gaze around from the faunus, looking away from the other girl.

"It doesn't."

"It _really_ does, Rach," Natalie said, leaning just a bit closer with a smug smirk.

Rachel huffed and shook her head.

"Fine. Fine! If you just **have** to know... I said it cause... well, for a while, I really thought it was true. Then I realized that it _was_ and I couldn't just drop it because then... you'd probably figure out something was different."

Natalie smirked at her.

"So you're saying that I wasn't your type because you were totally into me?" Natalie asked.

Rachel scoffed.

"That's not what I said... exactly."

"Oh no, it's _definitely_ what you said," Natalie continued. "You were totally in love with me, so to throw me off your scent you said I wasn't your type."

"You're _not_ my type, Natalie! You're completely the _opposite_ of my type! Both of you are!" Rachel gestured at Ivy with a wave of the hand. "My type is idiots, guys and girls that are pretty to look at then throw away!"

Natalie stared at Rachel incredulously.

" **That's** your type?!" she cried.

"That is pretty shallow," Oscar said from the other side.

"Not the time, Ozzy!" Rachel called from her spot on the bed. "And yeah, that **was** my type! But now I've got new types! Two new types! And, look at that, I have two new girlfriends too!"

Natalie rolled her eyes as she pulled closer to Rachel, wrapping her wings around Ivy and Rachel.

Rachel rolled her eyes as Natalie grinned down at her playfully.

"We changed your opinion on women for us?" Natalie asked.

"Did you know that sugar's chemical formula is C6H12O6?"

"It was sweet, wasn't it, Ives?" Natalie asked.

Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Put me out of my misery," she muttered.

"But then you'd _miss us_ ," Ivy said. She turned to Natalie. "Did I do the teasing thing right?"

Natalie **beamed** at her, letting out a quiet laugh.

"Yes, you did it **perfectly** , Ives."

Rachel rolled her eyes.

"How did _you two_ change my opinion on romance?" she asked.

"We're magical," Ivy said.

Natalie let out a laugh and shook her head, leaning down to kiss both Ivy and Rachel on their foreheads fondly. Rachel rolled her eyes, but she found that there was a smile on her face.

-

Coco pulled closer to Velvet, the faunus grabbing her around the waist.

"I can't believe we're getting _married_!" Velvet said as they walked back to their rooms.

"I can't believe we both tried to propose," Coco replied.

"I can't believe you thought you could propose," Velvet said.

Coco laughed and playfully bumped Velvet's shoulder with her over.

"I can't believe that you wanted to actually get _married_ ," Velvet said. "You actually want to settle down with somebody."

"Not just _somebody_ , I'm marrying the love of my life," Coco said gently, pulling the faunus closer with a fond smile on her face.

"I love you too, Coco," Velvet whispered as they stepped into the school, the pair gently holding onto one another.

"Did you finally ask?" a voice called, making the pair jump.

Coco pushed Velvet behind her at the words, her heart racing as she drew her weapon up.

"Son of a bi-Yatsu?!" Coco cried, squinting into the dark hallways.

Fox and Yatsu stepped into the bit of light that came from the doorway, and Coco relaxed, lowering her purse and pulling Velvet closer again.

"Yes, I did!" Velvet replied to Yatsu's question, smiling at their teammates.

Coco smiled down at Velvet and ran a hand along her back gently.

"What'd she say?" Fox asked, smirking.

Coco rolled her eyes and held up her free hand, grabbing Velvet's and showing both of their engagement rings off to their teammates.

Coco let out a quiet laugh at Fox and Yatsu's shocked expressions, Velvet rolling her eyes.

"I love you," Coco breathed.

"I love you too," Velvet replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just thought of it. Think it was important.
> 
> Neo: *signing* I want to marry you, and not just because you won't be able to testify against me in court.  
> Ciel: *crying* I love you too, Neo.


	46. Week Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nobody:  
> My tired af brain: Okay but like.... happy death day au for Blake and Weiss. Or Weiss and Ruby.... one of the two... or maybe she's the man... that'd be a good au.

The next morning was rather overwhelming for their group of friends, considering two of them had gotten engaged and four had felt their baby's first kicks.

The response to Coco and Velvet's engagement had been overwhelmingly excited, and Yang had thrown Coco into the air, hefting her onto her shoulder and starting to cheer for her.

"Look who got up the courage to propose to the beautiful faunus! It's almost like she's me and Rubes!"

"She _didn't_ propose, actually," Velvet replied, barely stopping herself from laughing out loud at Coco squirming in Yang's grasp and almost falling over while saying something about this whole thing being undignified. "Actually, I'm the one that proposed."

Yang dropped Coco, who hit the ground with a _thump_ and an undignified grunt.

"That's awesome, Velvet!" she cried, darting forward to lift Velvet onto her shoulder instead, starting to cheer for the other woman enthusiastically.

The response to the kicks had been just as excited, considering Sun had started to all but freak out at the four, letting out excited screams and squeals that the rest of their friends had joined in moments later.

The long session of catching up in the morning that made everyone late to their first class, expect for Winter, who had inexplicably made it to her classroom before everyone else, even though she'd left at the same time as her friends and family. When Weiss had walked into class after her, she'd gaped at her sister in shock, questioning her thoroughly on how she'd been able to do it. Winter had just said that it was rude to be late, and left it at that (even though Weiss had attempted to get more out of her as the day passed).

As if _that_ hadn't been enough for one _week_ , it was the time that Ruby and Weiss "decided" (as Yang had put it, causing _soooo_ much rage from Weiss) to start having their hormonal spells. Weiss had a lot of anger as her symptoms, but Ruby seemed to prefer sadness as an outlet for her hormones.

_/_

_Ruby let out a quiet sob as she sat on the couch. Blake was passing by, and she hesitated, frowning in concern as she vaulted over the back of the couch and pulled Ruby into her arms._

_"Sugar? What's wrong?" she asked gently, reaching her hand up to run through Ruby's hair, rubbing her back carefully._

_"There was a commercial," Ruby sniffled, "on the television, and there was a baby, and the mother had to watch her grow up and learn to drive in the family car, and..."_

_Ruby sobbed again and fell into Blake's arms further._

_"It was so **sad** , Blakey!"_

_Blake reached her arm out and grabbed the remote, turning off the television while continuing to comfort her crying wife._

_"Are you alright?" Blake asked, pulling Ruby forward so that her head landed on her shoulder._

_Ruby shook her head._

_"I'm... sorry?" Blake asked hesitantly._

_Yang stepped into the room and looked at her sister and wife together on the couch, Ruby practically laying on the other woman as she cried._

_Blake waved subtly for her to leave before she got trapped in this situation._

_/_

_Weiss threw her plate into the sink and stalked through the room, glaring at anyone that dared look at her._

_Blake had shoved Yang toward her, muttering something about still having tear stains on her dirty laundry from a few days ago, and dashed out of the room._

_Yang glared at the faunus, who silently closed the bedroom door behind her with a small smirk. Yang took a deep breath and shook her head, plastering on a fake smile as she walked over to Weiss' side._

_"Heyyyy, Angel. What's going on?" Yang asked, leaning against the counter in front of Weiss, who was glaring darkly at her._

_"Why? Something about my behavior upsetting you?" Weiss snapped._

_Yang wondered if she'd made a mistake along the way or if that was just a symptom of pregnant woman-ness. Being mad at perfectly good wives because they asked if the woman was pregnant._

_"No, Angel, I was just going to check on you, because I love you," Yang said gently. Weiss stared at her intently before she rolled her eyes, stalking off._

_Yang didn't know why, but she felt like she'd just survived a fight with a Grimm because it had just wandered off._

_Yang hurried to the bedroom and threw open the door, glaring at Blake._

_"You just left me to get eaten by the wolves!" she hissed._

_"What can I say?" Blake said, smirking and shrugging. "I'm not very fond of canines."_

_Yang stared at her for a long moment._

_"Why are you like this?_

_/_

Oscar, meanwhile, was left thankful that he had a boyfriend for a reason other than his feelings for Whitley.

Rachel, Natalie, and Ivy were exceedingly adorable together, but also rather sickening.

Rachel had went from playfully acting disgusted every time Natalie and Ivy were cute and did couple things to being overly affectionate with PDA.

She seemed to take the idea of spending a moment with her girlfriends and _not_ touching them as a personal offense. That meant that she was constantly holding their hands, curled up at their sides, playing with their wings (albeit that's specifically a Natalie sort of thing), and playing with their hair (specifically Ivy, who she had convinced to let her do her hair in all sorts of ways in the few days).

Oscar was a bit disgusted by his three teammates, but at least Rachel seemed happier as of late, making fewer snide remarks and laughing far more genuinely.

-

Blake let out a long breath, running her hand through her hair.

The second trimester was coming up, and she wasn't sure how she and Yang were going to deal with them and their crazy hormone spikes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason I have a lot of funny CielxNeo ideas
> 
> Modern AU  
> Penny, trying to set up Neo and Ciel: She's an angel that fell from heaven, Ciel, I'm telling you!  
> Ciel: *watching Neo, who's currently laughing at Jaune who fell down a set of stairs and is holding his head* SO WAS LUCIFER, PENNY!  
> Penny: She's not the devil!  
> Neo: *turns around, seeing Ciel* *winks at Ciel*  
> Ciel: Never mind she's an angel-


	47. Weirdness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't post much today, I kinda took an off day, but there's something here now!

Rachel walked into class, her hand clasping Natalie's own as they stepped inside.

As they passed, there was a loud cheer.

Natalie flinched at the noise and Rachel instantly grew angry at the overwhelming and _annoying_ sound.

Her gaze fell on Alea, who let out another cheer, gesturing at her teammates.

"Haha! Lexey, you owe me a hundred lien! I told you!" she cried, pointing at her teammate and fellow member of team ATLS.

"Son of a...," Lexey grumbled and pulled out her wallet.

Terresa was laughing at the other girl, leaning against her final teammate, Stacey, who was cackling as well as she wrapped an arm around Terresa to steady her.

"What's going on?" Rachel asked, raising an eyebrow and looking to the team leader, Alea, for answers.

Natalie instead looked to Ivy as if expecting her girlfriend to explain the entire situation in moments.

"Betting isn't a very smart choice, Lexey, the house always wins," Ivy said with a small smirk. Rachel raised an eyebrow and looked like she was about to laugh, but hesitated.

"Wait, betting? What did you bet on?" Rachel asked, turning to face team ATLS.

Alea smirked at Rachel, taking one step closer.

"Oh, please. It was clear from the moment we met that you were head over heels for at least _one_ of those two," she paused briefly to gesture at Natalie and Ivy, "and I decided that I wanted to make a little ccash over your obviousness, so... I decided to play along, make those girls of yours get jealous, cause, let's face it, you're really not as charming as you seem to think you are."

Alea winked at Rachel, who flushed slightly.

"Seriously?!" Oscar cried suddenly, breaking his teammates out of their stupor.

Rachel tucked herself closer to Natalie, forcing herself to roll her eyes.

"Oh, please. I'm _clearly_ charming, considering I got these two catches to fall for me, and, let's face it, I'm easy on the eyes too," Rachel said.

"Yeah! That's right!" Natalie cried, smirking at the other team as she lifted Rachel into the air, setting her on her shoulder. "She's the _queen_ of charm."

"Please sit down," Winter said from the front of the classroom, rolling her eyes as she flipped through a few papers.

Oscar blushed and stammered out an apology while hurrying to his seat. Meanwhile, Natalie stalked toward the chairs elegantly, holding up a bowing Rachel, who basked in the cheering (which came only from Ivy and Oscar, the first of which letting out excited whistles and whoops while the second clapped slowly and with an eye roll at the three girls).

Weiss scoffed.

"Please, Blake had _three_ girls fall for her, and she's a romantic," she said.

Terresa let out a loud laugh.

"Oh, _ppplllleeaasseee_ , Alea's the best charmer, we all know this," she said. Lexey nodded enthusiastically, looping her arms around their team leader's waist while Stacey cheered.

"All of you sit down and be quiet," Winter snapped, but her gaze shot to Weiss and she lowered her voice, sliding subtly closer to her. "Do you need a few minutes?"

Weiss glared at her and scoffed, slapping Winter's hand, which had reached toward her shoulder.

"I'm pregnant, not handicapped, Winter, now shut up and start the class," she hissed.

Winter's eyes widened and she subconsciously scooted backward at the intense glare.

Winter turned toward the classroom full of students and started the lesson, hoping that Weiss might not target that gaze at her so angrily again.

-

Blake hesitated as she stared at Ruby, who was sobbing into her bowl.

"Uh, hey, Sugar, what's wrong?" she asked gently, stepping closer and wrapping her arms around her waist.

Ruby fell against Blake and stared in horror at the bowl, which had earlier been filled with her most recent craving, which had been, surprisingly, _watermelon_.

"There no more watermelon, Blake! It's all gone! Everything disappears and one day our little babies will be all gone and grown up," Ruby wailed.

Blake stared down at her in shock, eyes darting up when she heard Yang starting to walk into the room.

"That's not true, Sugar, we'll always be together," she said, snapping her fingers to stop Yang from escaping the room, which she had tried to do as soon as she had seen the pair at the counter. Yang let out a silent sigh and followed Blake's finger as she pointed at the fridge, quietly pulling out some of the watermelon. "And our babies are still _inside_ you and Weiss, you don't have to worry."

Blake ran her hand through the other girl's hair gently and pulled the bowl toward Ruby, giving Yang a silent "thank you" that she mouthed.

Blake heard Ruby stop sniffling as she grabbed the bowl and started to feed herself again, calming down.

Blake wondered if they'd be walking on eggshells like this for the rest of the pregnancy.

-

Weiss growled and threw open the door to the freezer, grabbing some ice cream.

"What... what are you doing, Angel?" Yang asked hesitantly, not wanting to get yelled at again.

"Getting something to eat because you two," she angrily gestured at Yang and Blake (who had just slipped into the bedroom with a smirk in Yang's direction), "and **these four** ," she gestured at her stomach, "are trying to starve me."

Weiss grabbed the container of ketchup she had put on the counter, squeezing it over her ice cream.

Yang watched her with horror, the kind of look that a person got when they were staring at a car crash they couldn't look away from and had to remember for the rest of their life.

"You're.... you're going to _eat that_?!" she cried.

"Of course not," Weiss said snootily. Yang let out a relieved breath until the former heiress reached out to grab the mustard that the blond hadn't seen a moment before.

As she poured the mustard onto the ice cream, Yang gagged and threw herself over the kitchen sink. When the blond looked up, Weiss purposefully made eye contact with the blond before taking a bite of her monstrous creation.

Yang gagged again and Weiss let out an evil cackle.

"Now you know kind of what it's like to have morning sickness," the former heiress said before she took another bit of her food.

Yang almost threw up and she darted from the room.

"I'm out! Deal with your weird pregnancy cravings on your own!" Yang cried, darting into the bedroom and throwing the door open. She pulled Blake toward her and burrowed her face in the faunus' shoulder. "She just... she just _ate it_ , Blake!" Yang hissed.

The faunus gently rubbed her back.

"I know," she said. "It's disgusting."

Blake let out a sigh and shook her head while Yang held her tighter.

From the kitchen, the pair could hear Ruby speak.

"Hey! Is that ketchup and mustard on ice cream?! That's _exactly_ what I was craving!" she cried.

Yang and Blake held each other tighter.

"Is this what having children would be like?" the blond whispered.

Blake shook her head.

"I **never** wanted to eat anything like this before in my life, even as a child."

Yang let out a slow breath and guided Blake over so they could sit on the bed.

"It gets worse," the faunus said. "But then it gets better. And then worse. But then better too."

Yang sighed again.

"It gets worse?"

Blake pulled away and punched Yang on the shoulder gently.

"Yeah. I thought that you of all people would know that, future diaper changer extraordinaire."

Blake sauntered out of the room.

"So you weren't kidding about that?!" Yang called after her.

Silence.

"BLAKE?!"

Yang sighed, running a hand through her hair in frustration.

 _No, she definitely was **not** kidding about that. Dust damn it! I'm going to be **official** diaper changer, aren't I? DUST!_ Yang thought to herself as she trailed out of the room behind Blake. _Besides, I know that little faunus heard me. That was just rude not responding._


	48. ATLS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I had a few requests to flesh out the team, decided to do it this chapter!

Alea's teammates hadn't been lying when they'd called her a charmer. In their opinion, she was the height of the female population, the best Remnant had to offer.

The four had met, predictably, on the first day of school here at Beacon, and Lexey had found their team leader in the forest (which their fellow teammates had been both silently and loudly jealous of throughout the beginning of the year). That had left Terresa to find Stacey, the two having an instant dislike for one another when they'd met in the woods.

While Alea had, quite literally, swept Lexey off her feet and saved her from a hit, courtesy of a beowolf, and looked down at her new partner with a smirk and a wink, Terresa and Stacey had run into each other, once again, quite literally, and fallen to the ground.

_/_

_Lexey stared up at Alea, who spun her rifle in one hand, pointing it at the Grimm._

_"Looks like heaven just lost an angel," Alea said, pulling the trigger of her rifle and causing the Grimm to explode in front of them._

_Lexey finally made herself let out an awkward laugh, tucking her hair behind her ear and grinning at her._

_"W-well, I..."_

_"Do pretty girls not learn English anymore? Must have missed the memo," Alea replied, setting Lexey on her feet and slipping her hand into the other girl's._

_"Now, how about we go find those teammates of ours?"_

*meanwhile*

_Stacey stumbled backward and let out a curse in a language that Terresa didn't recognize, and the latter girl stumbled to her feet._

_"Hey! Watch where you're going, idiot!" she snapped._

_Stacey growled and vaulted to her feet expertly. Terresa watched her warily, distantly wondering if the other girl was some sort of circus person due to her gymnastics._

_"Maybe you should watch where you're looking, you ungrateful ingrate! You just looked in my eyes, and now I'm going to have to spend the next few years with **you**!" the woman snapped._

_Terresa's eyes widened, and she reached forward to shove the other girl._

_"Asshole!"_

_"Ah, yes, what a clever insult, you naive little blind butch lesbian looking tramp!" Stacy snapped, stalking off._

_Terresa stared at her in shock for a long moment before she self-consciously reached her hands up to touch at her clothing and hair._

_Alright, sure, she had hair that was just a little ways away from being a buzz cut, and **sure** , she only wore black cargo pants... and alright, she **did** always have power poses and..._

_Alright, Terresa was starting to see her new partner's point, but that didn't make her any less **insufferable**._

_Terresa glanced at the other girl, and realized exactly how different the two were in appearance._

_Terresa had a very dark complexion and, when she let her hair grow out slightly, it looked like it was frizzy and out of control, and she never cared enough to brush it. She was of an average height, but compared to her new teammate she might as well be a giant._

_Stacey on the other hand had her hair up in a tight ponytail, her clothing the exact opposite. She looked like she'd spent a good hour considering what shirt would match perfectly with her skintight pants, which jacket she should put on over the rest of her clothing that would make her look perfectly presentable and scream "I'm professional and I will be taken seriously because I have zero fun and will try to kill anyone that makes a single joke in front of me."_ _That expression was the reason that Terresa vowed, in that moment, to make sure to never stop playing practical jokes on her new partner. When the girl spoke, she had a pronounced accent that made Terresa certain that English was not her first language, which explained the odd curses from earlier._

_/_

_Terresa grabbed their relic with a wide smile and held it up in front of Stacey's face._

_"See? I told you we wouldn't die!" she sneered._

_Stacey put her hands on her hips, glaring up at her._

_"I am **not** going to enjoy working with you, am I?" she asked._

_Terresa smirked and shook her head at her new partner._

_"Oh, I intend on making sure that you don't."_

_There were footsteps behind them, and the pair spun to face-_

_"Why wouldn't you enjoy working with such a fine specimen such as her?" a voice asked._

_Terresa took the first woman in, looking her up and down with a small smirk on her face._

_"And who might you be?" Terresa asked, putting one hand on her hip and cocking it to the side._

_The other girl shifted her gaze from Stacey to Terresa, her smirk not slipping in the slightest as she stared at her._

_"Alea. Alea Ajax."_

_The girl was about Terresa's height and dressed in finer clothing than her, though not as fancy as Stacey's own. She had on a watch on one wrist, which was, surprisingly, a bright shade of pink, which directly contrasted her clothing, which was mostly made out of more sensible colors, such as brown and white with a splash of blue on a ribbon she had tied around her short blond hair._

_Terresa's eyes darted down to the other girl's relic, and she smirked._

_"I'm looking forward to working with you, Alea. I'm Terresa Terra."_

_Their final teammate appeared and hurried forward, holding her hand out for her to shake._

_"Hi! My name's Lexey Lan!" she said._

_The fourth girl had a slight accent, as Stacey did, but it wasn't nearly as heavy, making her new teammates think that she had just grown up somewhere where the majority of people spoke with a similar tone to their words rather than English being a second language. She was wearing casual clothing, much like Terresa herself, and had long brown hair that dipped most of the way down her back. She had on a kind smile, which Terresa was starting to think was ever present on her face._

_"Stacey. Stacey Seneca."_

_Terresa's new partner shook Alea's hand firmly, glancing toward Terresa with a scowl._

_'This is going to be a fun few years,' Terresa thought to herself._

_/_

Terresa looped an arm around Stacey's shoulders and gave her a wink.

Stacey gave her an unamused and almost frustrated look for having been interrupted from class by her partner.

"What?" she hissed.

"Just thinking about how far we've come."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had some concerns for me during the last couple days. I'm not sick, I don't have writer's block, I'm just a but distracted by high school and the upcoming AP tests... that's my bad, sorry for that.


	49. Checkup

Blake took a deep breath as she paced back and forth in front of the hospital, hands fidgeting in front of her while sighing.

Yang looped an arm around the faunus' shoulders.

"Aw, calm down, Kit-Kat. What's the worst that could happen?" Yang asked.

Blake stared at her for a long moment, clearly not amused in the slightest as she watched the blond impatiently.

"What? Are you scared we'll have a second ultrasound for the two and you'll realize the doctor was wrong to say we're going to have seven children but instead ten?" Yang proposed. "Or maybe even a dozen? Oh, wait, Rubes loves candy, how about a baker's dozen?"

Blake stared at her for a long moment before shaking her head and pulling away.

"Just open the dust damn door," Blake replied, rolling her eyes.

Yang laughed and reached her hand out to playfully shove the faunus before she grabbed the door handle, pulling it open with a small grin on her face.

"Alright! Let's see this crazy doctor and whatever he has to say," Yang said. "Ooooh! Maybe he was wrong the first time and we're **not** having second kids. That would be quite the roller coaster of emotions, wouldn't it?"

Blake stiffened and shifted her gaze to Yang, glaring at the blond.

"Don't even joke about that," Blake said seriously.

As the four hesitated by the hospital door, Weiss glared at the door and hurried past the pair.

"My feet are killing me, I'm thirteen weeks pregnant now, and I'm going to go sit down inside there," Weiss said. "So get out of my way."

"Want one of us to carry you?" Blake asked worriedly. "If your feet are hurting then I don't want you to push yourself-"

"Just shut your pretty mouth, Kit-Kat. You know she always says no when you suggest that," Yang muttered, looping her arm around the other girl's waist and starting to lead her into the hospital at her side.

Blake laughed and rolled her eyes.

"You're right."

"First time for everything," Ruby noted as she followed after them, smirking just a bit.

"How about you? Are you hungry? Maybe I could get you something, I have some food on me-"

"Blakey, how is it that you always seem to know exactly when I'm hungry?" Ruby asked.

"Because you're constantly hungry, Rubes," Yang replied as her sister took some food that Blake had offered her, starting to munch away at it.

"Of course I'm hungry," Ruby said, even as her mouth was full, "I'm pregnant with triplets, Yang! So you're dust damn right that I'm hungry!"

Blake rolled her eyes, silently and internally thanking the fact that children in the womb still couldn't hear their words because she definitely didn't want any of the seven to have the first few words they heard be obscenities. She'd have to talk to her wives about that, that was for sure.

"I always know when you're hungry, Ruby, because you're my world. Or, at least, a third of it," Blake said, tilting her head to the side in consideration for a moment. "Or maybe I have three worlds. That makes sense. You're one of my worlds, Ruby."

"Is she a third world country?" Yang asked.

Ruby slapped her on the upper arm before she shoved Yang in the side so that she could wiggle in between the blond and the faunus.

"Hey!" Yang protested as Ruby wormed her way closer to Blake and grabbed her around the waist gently.

"You can't even argue! Ah, being pregnant gives me so much leverage! This is great!" Ruby said happily.

Blake glanced down at her, raising an eyebrow.

"That's why you're happy to be pregnant?" she asked skepitically.

"Well, that's not the only reason! But it's a nice side benefit to, you know, ever lasting love and having children with the women I love!" Ruby grinned up at Blake before she paused to consider. "Oh, and also Yang, I guess, if she has to be here."

The blond rolled her eyes sufferingly and made her way up to Weiss, hesitantly reaching out as if hoping that she could help but was far too worried to get closer in case the other girl might try to start yelling at her at any moment. Her hormone craziness was still in full swing at any time lately with little to no warning. One moment she'd be her happy, if somewhat annoying and pesky self, and then the next moment she'd be trying to bite someone's head off. Students had been starting to fear the younger Schnee sibling more than the older sister in their class, many people going so far as to hide behind Winter for help when Weiss would suddenly decide that the sound of someone's squeaky chair was so grating that Weiss just had to try and suspend them (if she was in a relatively good mood at the time instead of her worst hormonal spikes where she would threaten to have one of her wives fight them after school, because she herself couldn't when she was so pregnant).

The four sat in the waiting room for a long while before the nurse opened up the door to beacon them inside.

Yang let out a quiet laugh as Weiss stood up, swaying just slightly on her feet.

Weiss' hand reached down to her waist as if looking for her rapier that she usually held there, but didn't find it (Blake had made her stop wearing it a few weeks ago after Weiss had threatened a student). Yang's eyes widened and she found herself to taking a step backward subconsciously. Even without a weapon, Weiss could be pretty intimidating, especially when filled with pregnancy hormonal rage. She wouldn't be able to physically harm Yang, but she would definitely be able to say some intimidating things (and hurtful ones, considering pregnant Weiss was apparently a cruel Weiss).

The checkup went quickly, and they were able to hear all seven racing heartbeats in the ultrasounds, which had just about made Blake faint into Yang's arms with a mixture of excitement and worry.

Other than that, it had gone perfectly! The doctor didn't chide them about anything they were doing wrong (even though Blake gave him plenty of opportunities to do so as she asked no less than fifty questions).

Overall, it had been a pretty good visit (excluding when Weiss had fallen over and Yang had thrown herself underneath her to cushion the fall so that her pregnant wife wouldn't hit the hard ground).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slow updates! Please keep putting up with me!


	50. Introductions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the silence yesterday! I just needed a good ten hour sleep after a two hour nap and I'm BACK with less depression and more creativity!

When Blake had told them that she was going to be one of those parents that would talk to the babies while they were in the womb, this wasn't exactly what Ruby and Weiss had been thinking.

They had expected maybe some sort of baby talk, maybe, but, to quote Blake, "baby talk harms intelligent development of children and should be reserved for dogs, considering they're the lowest form of life."

Yang had asked what Blake would do if one of their children turned out to be a dog faunus, which had made Blake glare at her darkly and all but growl.

"Of course it wouldn't matter," Blake had said with a wave of the hand, "they'd be a _faunus,_ Yang, not an actual dog. I still can't believe I'm having children with a racist."

Yang had, as always, argued that she wasn't racist, which had caused Blake to roll her eyes and sarcastically agree with the other woman.

Suffice it to say, Blake did **not** think of talking to her children like most parents would at this age.

/

_Blake stepped into the hallway and burst into a grin as she stepped forward to grab Ruby lightly under the arms and lifted her into the air. It was the end of the school day, and Blake let out a laugh of excitement. Ruby beamed down at her wife and gave her a confused look as the faunus lifted her higher._

_"Oh, I missed you!" Blake said happily._

_"Me too," Ruby said enthusiastically and was about to continue speaking, but Blake cut her off._

_"Oh, teaching was great, as always, but sort of annoying. People can be pretty stupid, but I'm sure you three will learn that in the future. You **are** going to be related to Weiss and I, and we're pretty smart. Oh, I just can't wait to meet you three. There's so many things that I'm going to love to show you. I can teach you how to use your semblances, help you build your weapons...," Blake trailed off and stared at Ruby's stomach with a fond smile._

_Ruby gaped at her wife in shock._

_"Seriously?! You're telling **them** about your day instead of me?!" Ruby cried._

_Blake looked up in shock, almost as if she'd forgotten that Ruby was there. Ruby had no idea how the faunus had forgotten her, considering she was not just holding her in the air but she was her **wife** , but she had._

_Yang let out a loud laugh, setting a hand on Ruby's shoulder._

_"Rubes, are you really that shocked? When it comes to Blake and her babies, you're always going to come second. Or, well, eighth?" Yang glanced at Blake, who rolled her eyes._

_"Of course she won't come eighth. She'd be tied for second because all seven of our children will be tied for first."_

_Yang shook her head with a fond smile while Ruby rolled her eyes._

_"Of course, my apologies. I can't believe I messed that up," Yang said with a chuckle._

_Weiss joined the three and rolled her eyes._

_"Is Blake talking to the kids again?"_

_Blake set down Ruby and turned to Weiss, starting to talk to Weiss' stomach as she had Ruby's, telling those four about her day._

_/_

_"And that was your other mother, Yang," Blake was saying, laying on the bed with her head near both Weiss and Ruby's stomachs. "She's related to all seven of you, but she's only directly the parent of only four of you; Akio, Adolpha, Jin, and Aella. But she'll be your mother too, Crystal, Auburn, and Lavey."_

_Ruby and Weiss shared a suffering look between them._

_"Blake, they don't know their names yet, that means nothing to them," Weiss pointed out._

_Blake ignored her._

_"Your parents... well, we don't have the most common relationship, but that doesn't mean you won't have a good childhood. In fact, you might even have a **better** childhood, because there's four of us that will always be there for you. Not to mention all your aunts and uncles that will be at our side too."_

_Ruby and Yang snorted._

_"Although you might have a lot to deal with considering we're all... kind of famous, which Weiss definitely didn't have fun with when she was a child."_

_The former heiress mad a sound of agreement without looking up from her book, which she flipped a page in._

_"As I told you before, my name's Blake, but you'll all be calling me momma. At least I think so. Ruby keeps changing her mind on what you'll be calling us all, but that's not what really matters."_

_Blake leaned forward to set her head on Ruby's stomach, gently kissing it before she went to Weiss' and did the same._

_Ruby squirmed at the action while Weiss let out a squeak of shock._

_Blake curled up between the pair and started to purr as her eyes fell shut._

_"I love you all," she breathed before slipping into the land of sleep._

_Yang, Weiss, and Ruby all stared down at the faunus._

_"Should we be worried?" Ruby finally asked._

_"Oh, most definitely," Weiss replied, not looking up from her book._

_"Hey, at least she isn't freaking out as much anymore. Now she's excited," Yang said, grabbing Blake around the waist and curling up beside her happily._

_"Yeah, **too** excited. She can't just chill," Weiss said._

_"Can you **be** too excited to have children? Isn't it a good thing for her to be happy about this? Isn't that the mark of a good parent?" Ruby replied, staring down at Blake fondly and starting to run her hand through the faunus' hair._

_Blake moved closer to Ruby and purred harder, making Yang laugh at the rumbling sound in front of her._

_/_

_Weiss huffed as Blake curled up at her side, starting to purr._

_"Do you have to do that all the time?" Weiss asked._

_"Yes," Blake replied, her voice sounding just a little bit distorted from the purr._

_"At least it isn't like last night," Ruby replied, having just gotten Blake to stop laying in her lap and purring a minute ago.  
_

_Weiss winced._

_The night before, Blake had spent almost an hour telling the story of their adventures (although that hadn't been the first time the faunus had told them stories, which had become a nightly activity)._

_/_

_Blake wrapped her arm around Weiss' waist and set her head against her stomach, purring loudly._

_Weiss made a sound of shock, and Blake let out a laugh of disbelief._

_"Did...," Blake trailed off with wide eyes directed at Weiss, who nodded slowly._

_"Oh my dust!" Blake breathed, her purring growing impossibly louder._

_"What?" Yang asked, moving closer worriedly._

_"They heard Blake's purring," Weiss said softly._

_"They didn't just hear it," Blake whispered. "They **responded** to it."_

_"What?! How?!" Yang cried in a mix of disbelief and excitement._

_"They kicked!" Blake said. "Several of them! Maybe all of them!"_

_"And they moved closer to her," Weiss added, setting her hand on her stomach in a sort of awed disbelief._

_/_

_Ruby held her stomach as Blake all but skipped out of the room._

_"Dust, I wish she'd stop doing that," she said._

_Weiss groaned and leaned against her side._

_"I know. It's all fun and happy for her, but she's not the one that has to deal with the kicking and the squirming," Weiss replied, rolling her eyes. "We should tell her. You know, make her stop."_

_A beat of silence._

_"But we're not going to do that, are we?" Ruby asked._

_Weiss scoffed._

_"Have you **seen** that happy little smile on hers? She looks like a kid on Christmas morning," Weiss said. "There's no way I'm evil enough to take that away from my wife."  
_

_Ruby pulled closer to her wife and let out a sigh._

_"Yeah... I didn't think either of us would be able to do it. Besides... she's really cute when she talks to them."_

_Weiss smiled fondly._

_"I know."_


	51. First Crush

_It wasn't that Lexey hadn't had feelings for someone before, nor was it about her feelings being for a fellow female (she'd known that she was into girls since she was about five years old, which was a long and weird story that she really didn't want to get into at the moment). The problem was that Lexey was almost completely certain that not one, but two other girls were crushing on their team leader, and she didn't like it in the slightest._

_She let out a groan and let her head fall against the back of her pillow. She was falling hard for Alea, but she had no idea how to keep Stacey and Terresa away from the girl she had feelings for..._

_She heard heavy footsteps and picked her head up just in time to see Terresa slam the door open, causing it to bounce against the wall with a **crash**._

_Stacey stepped in after her a moment later, rolling her eyes before she crossed her hands in front of her, setting her palms on the hilt of her weapons primly._

_"What's wrong?" Lexey asked, tilting her head to the side just slightly._

_Terresa spun to shove her small girl in the shoulders, glaring down at Stacey._

_"Touch me again and I'll replace those hands of yours with stubs," Stacey growled, hand tightening on her weapon._

_"You think you could stand a chance against me?" Terresa shoved the other girl again, this time harder. "Bring it on."_

_Stacey whipped her pair of weapons off of her belt, causing a clicking sound to emanate from them. The retractable weapons slid their gears against each other until Stacey was left with a pair of baton-like weapons with a thin sharp edge on the end of it. During their practices, Terresa had once underestimated the weapon's sharp edge, and had lost her aura only to have been cut deeply on her forearm (Lexey hadn't said anything at the time, but she'd thought she'd seen blood)._

_Terresa's eyes started to glow, and the ground beneath them started to rumble._

_Lexey scrambled to her feet._

_"Hey, hey, calm down," she said slowly, stepping toward them._

_Both seemed to ignore her, and Stacey hurried toward Terresa, her baton/swords/whatever the woman wanted to call them (Lexey had decided on swatons, but Stacey didn't seem to like that name despite Alea and Terresa's amusement at the term). Stacey crossed the weapons in front of her, the sharp edge pointed straight at Terresa dangerously, and she flicked her wrists harshly. Before the swatons could make contact with Terresa's skin, however, the other girl grabbed her arms and shoved her forward._

_Stacey's eyes widened in shock, and her usually prim stance failed her. She usually had her feet very purposefully placed in the most stable position, but her anger had caused her to forget her stance._

_Terresa, being far larger than Stacey and pretty much everyone in their class (not just in height but in her exceedingly broad shoulders), stumbled forward, clearly having expected for Stacey to have been more stable on her feet._

_The two pitched backward with Stacey, the smaller girl slamming against the ground with Terresa sprawled out on top of her._

_Terresa's eyes almost instantly turned back to their normal coal black and losing their golden glow. Stacey let out a gasp of shock, causing her swatons to tumble out of her gasp and clatter against the ground harmlessly, and stared up at Terresa with a look of surprise and..._

_Lexey's eyes widened as she watched her teammates stay on the ground for a suspiciously long amount of time, where Terresa looked down at Stacey with a mix of shock and confusion. Meanwhile, Stacey gaped up at her, face starting to shift to red as blood pooled in her cheeks._

_Lexey watched the pair with disbelief._

_There was a long moment of silence in the room, but it was broken as the door swung open, revealing Alea, who was still sporting her widest grin that almost always made her heart skip a beat._

_"What's going on here?" Alea asked, raising an eyebrow._

_The sound seemed to shock the two girls on the floor out of their reverie, and Terresa scrambled to get herself off of her partner/sometime rival. Stacey's eyes turned from scared and confused to angry as she pushed Terresa off of her._

_"Get off me, you oaf!" she growled, scrambling to grab her weapons as her face bled redder and redder as she tried to distance herself from the other girl, sitting down on her bed and pulling a textbook from her backpack._

_Apparently, whatever the pair had been arguing about didn't seem to matter anymore, considering Terresa seemed to be hurrying to distance herself from her partner as well._

_"They got in a fight, apparently," Lexey told Alea, smiling at her gently as she tucked a bit of hair behind her ear._

_"What about?" Alea asked._

_"Who knows? Probably something as meaningless as always."_

_Alea gave her a lopsided smile and tilted her head to the side._

_"You're right...," she considered for a moment. "I don't think I've ever heard you say something that rude **or** passive aggressive..."_

_Lexey flushed._

_"Oh, I'm so-"_

_"I like it. You might have a backbone after all," Alea continued, sending her a wink._

_Lexey's face turned an even darker shade of red._

_"Of course Lex has a backbone. Didn't you see her sparring yesterday? Badass!" Terresa called from her seat._

_Stacey glanced up, her gaze lingering on her partner for a long moment with a mix of confusion and even... amusement? But after a moment her expression turned to a dark glare._

_"You really shouldn't use that kind of language...," Stacey hesitated and gave Lexey a small smile. "But you're right, she was pretty amazing."_

_Lexey gave the pair a fond smile while Terresa's eyes darted to Stacey._

_"Did you just say I was right?!" she cried._

_"There's a first time for everything," Stacey said primly._

_Lexey's eyes suddenly widened in shock, and she realized something. The perfect way to keep Terresa and Stacey from asking out Alea (who seemed like she might have a thing for any of her teammates, but maybe that was just because she was a **very** flirtatious person)... was to have them realize they both had feelings for each other._

_Lexey couldn't believe the idea, but... after what she'd seen earlier, she was rather confident in saying that there was definitely **some** sort of tension between the pair..._

_That could work._

_/_

Lexey laughed as she looked back.

That had definitely **not** worked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is now OFFICIALLY longer than linked in life and love! (check the numbers if you don't believe me!)


	52. The Interlude

Blake gently guided Ruby and Weiss away from one of their older outfits, not wanting them to get either depression or rage about not being able to fit into them. After all, they were both fifteen weeks pregnant (seventeen for normal people, considering the dust had bypassed the first two weeks, but that's not important at the moment).

"I still don't see why we have to get all dressed up," Ruby whined.

"Your uncle is getting married. Of course you have to get dressed up," Weiss snapped.

"Sorry to break it to ya, Rubes, but Angel's right," Yang added as she stepped up to Blake, grabbing her tie and starting to tie it together.

Blake raised an eyebrow as she glanced at her wife.

"You know I can tie that, right?" she asked.

Yang leaned down closer with a smirk, pulling Blake closer with the tie.

"But that's so much less seductive," Yang breathed.

Blake smirked at her, running one hand down her arm and onto her waist, cradling it gently.

"Is this because your wife is fifteen weeks pregnant and you're missing having fun with her?" Blake asked.

Yang pulled Blake even closer with her tie, leaning down to connect their lips.

Blake wrapped her arms around her waist and let her hands slide up her back gently until she reached her shoulders, looping her arms underneath Yang's own and pulling her down even further.

Weiss snapped her fingers.

"Hey! You two! Get going, we have a wedding to get to!" she said, tone rather trite. "You can start being frustrated about your pregnant wives later."

Blake pulled back from Yang, making her pout, and gave Weiss a sultry smirk.

"How could we ever be frustrated with you? You're carrying our children, Weiss, that's the best expression of love possible."

Weiss and Ruby both flushed at the words, the former heiress pulling her hair back awkwardly.

Blake leaned closer to Yang, whose eyes fluttered shut, and gently whispered in her ears.

"That's the best way to take care of her anger. Just make her embarrassed," Blake said before pulling back. She pressed a chaste kiss to the blond's lips before she pulled away, turning to Ruby and holding out her arm invitingly.

"Shall we?" she asked.

Ruby giggled and grabbed onto Blake's arm as the faunus held open the door for her.

"This reminds me-"

"Of _our_ wedding?" Blake finished for her.

Ruby grinned excitedly at her, nodding emphatically.

"Me too," Blake said. "Getting to see you three all dressed up and getting ready to hear some vows... well, it's still magical."

Ruby let her head fall against the faunus' shoulder gently as they walked out toward the car.

"It is, isn't it?"

Blake smiled and held open the back door for her while Yang scrambled to do the same for Weiss before the former heiress got frustrated (which was becoming more and more common lately).

Yang slid into the driver's seat and tried to subtly set her hand on the middle console. Blake reached over to set her own on top of the blond's, which she could tell was what Yang had wanted to happen.

"We're going to need a bigger car," Blake said idly, looking at the vehicle as she spoke. It was small, just big enough for four people to be seated comfortably, but up to five could be held if people were squished into the back. "A **much** bigger car."

"Dust, Blake, we won't need a car, we'll need a **van**!" Yang cried.

"Stop cursing," Blake said offhandedly before continuing. "And I don't want a van. They can flip."

"I don't think there's that many vehicles that can hold eleven people," Weiss noted.

"We can get an RV," Ruby offered.

"RV's should only be used for vacations," Weiss said with a sniff. "Plus, they're even worse than vans."

"We might need a van," Blake breathed with a look of slight horror on her face.

"Whenever we drive around, it's going to look like we're trying to kidnap children," Yang said.

"Kidnap children?! We don't **need** anymore children, Yang! We barely have enough room for all of us in a **van**!" Weiss cried.

"But they won't know that! Vans are the **official** transport for kidnappers," Yang replied as she turned a corner.

"Oooh! Maybe we could paint the van with the kids when they're older!" Ruby said excitedly, reaching her hand up to her stomach happily.

"That sounds like a good idea, Sugar," Blake said, looking back to give her a fond smile.

"But kids can't draw," Yang said. "I'm not going to have us driving something that looks like it should either be on the side of a refrigerator or the wall of a serial killer. It would just serve to make us look **more** like kidnappers!"

"Who says our children won't be artistic?" Weiss asked, crossing her arms (though it was a rather awkward movement considering some things around her chest had... _changed_ since her pregnancy that still kind of threw her off and almost made her tip over sometimes... which Yang did **not** laugh at, obviously. Of **course** she would never laugh at her pregnant wife).

"Uh, Rubes and I," Yang said, snickering, "have you ever seen either of us try to draw? I think Ruby could have a real promising career as a professional serial killer note writer."

"First of all, that's not a thing," Weiss said. "And second of all, I'm artistic! I was a singer!"

"Yeah, but can you draw?" Yang asked.

Blake shot her blond wife a dark glare, knowing where this conversation would go.

Weiss glared daggers at the back of Yang's head.

"Yes, actually, I **can** draw," she said snootily, sniffing at the end of her sentence.

Yang was about to reply, but Blake dug her nails into the blond's hand, causing her to hiss.

"What?" Yang whispered.

Blake gave her a pointed look, and Yang rolled her eyes.

"For all your comments about not being _that_ similar to a cat, you really **do** have claws," she muttered.

Blake dug her nails in deeper, and Yang grimaced.

"Sorry!" she whispered quickly, and Blake smirked to herself, leaning back in her seat slightly as she watched the road pass by them.

Ruby and Yang were both thinking about the same thing. It was almost impossible to believe that Qrow was finally settling down, finally getting married... finally happy. It was odd to think that they not only lived in a world where that was possible, but had helped to create it themselves.

They were finally going to watch their uncle finally start a new chapter in his life after holding onto the past for far too long.


	53. The Wedding

Blake wrapped her arm around Weiss' waist and held her loosely, giving her wife a fond smile. Weiss raised an eyebrow as they both took a seat at the wedding.

"Why are you looking at me life that?" she asked.

Blake's gaze turned impossibly fonder.

"Because I love you."

Weiss flushed slightly, but she rolled her eyes.

"So? What does that have to do with that weird look you're giving me?"

"I always look at you like that," Blake replied, leaning closer and kissing the top of her head gently.

Weiss flushed deeper, and she huffed, leaning against Blake.

"You're too charming for your own good, you know."

"How so?" Blake asked, glancing down at her.

"You charmed there women, and now you're tied down with seven kids on the way."

"If you call that a bad thing, then I **really** don't understand you in the slightest," Blake replied.

Weiss let out a quiet laugh and pulled closer to her.

"I don't think it's a bad thing," she whispered.

"Good."

Just as Weiss was about to continue their conversation, the procession started, and they both turned their attention to the approaching figures.

The bridesmaids were the first to walk down the aisle, both Ruby and Yang taking their spots in the middle, despite probably supposed to be on Elm's side. The next to walk down were the best man and the maid of honor, Taiyang and Ilia respectively, and they each took their spot on the opposite sides of the alter, sending one another small smiles.

Elm and Qrow were the final two to walk down the aisle, coming to a halt parallel to one another.

Elm spun to face Ilia, all but bouncing on her toes in excitement.

"You nervous?" Ilia whispered, knowing that it was up to her to calm Elm down before the actually ceremony in a minute.

"Not nervous, but..."

Ilia reached forward to grab Elm's hands with her own and stopped herself from wincing, just slightly, when Elm tightened her grasp significantly.

"Elm, if he were here, he'd be telling you how happy he is for you and Qrow. He was in love with you, which means that he doesn't want you to feel guilty about marrying Qrow. He'd be so happy to be here today, to see how happy you make one another."

Elm sniffled and wiped at her eyes for a moment before she threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around the faunus and lifting her into the air excitedly.

"Thank you!" she cried, twirling the surprised Ilia around in a circle for a long minute before she let her fall to the ground. "You're the best."

Ilia smiled at her and gave her one final hug.

"I'm very happy for you too, Elm."

Elm gave her one last grin before she spun around to face her soon-to-be husband.

Qrow had turned to face Taiyang after seeing Elm start speaking to Ilia, knowing that Elm would take a minute to get out her excitement about the wedding.

"Really? That's the one?" Taiyang asked with a smirk.

Qrow punched him lightly on the shoulder, rolling his eyes.

"Definitely," he said.

"I think she's wonderful," Ruby said happily, leaning closer to give her uncle a tight hug, which Yang joined in on.

"If she gives you any problems, let me know and I'll take her out for you," Taiyang said.

"Isn't the man usually the one threatened?" Yang asked, grinning.

"Yeah, but have you seen her? Girl's built like a tree! She's like twice Qrow's height!" Taiyang replied, making Qrow roll his eyes sufferingly. "Seriously, how tall is she?"

"Almost six and a half feet tall, Tai. We've talked about this before. On the way over here, actually," Qrow said with a sigh and a suffering look that he directed at his neices.

Taiyang clapped a hand on Qrow's shoulder to get his attention.

"Seriously, man, I'm happy for you," he said.

Qrow gave him a rare smile, hanging his head just slightly as he laughed, wiping one hand against his face.

"Thanks."

"She's good for you," Taiyang continued. "And... it's good to see you happy again. It's been far too long."

Qrow let out a long breath and nodded.

"I know," Qrow said gently. "Feels like it's been forever."

"I've certainly never seen him smile like that," Yang said, gesturing at his face.

Qrow chuckled and shook his head.

"Sure you have, kiddo."

"Not this giddy," Ruby added on, leaning against her sister's side with a wide grin on her face.

"Don't think Qrow's ever been this giddy. Or even **giddy** before," Taiyang said.

The husband-to-be rolled his eyes and huffed.

"I'm allowed to be happy. Dust, I'm **supposed** to be happy today, aren't I? I'm getting married!"

"Never thought I'd see the day," Taiyang said, pulling Qrow in for a quick hug, whispering in his ear. "I'm glad I did."

Qrow clapped his former brother-in-law on the back before pulling away with a fond smile.

"Me too."

Qrow turned back around and found himself facing Elm, who reached her hands forward to grab his own.

The officiant quickly went through the opening remarks, sensing how quickly the pair wanted to get the ceremony done.

"We have been invited here today to witness and celebrate the uniting in marriage of Elm and Qrow. They are taking the first step of their new beginning; their new life together. The ability and desire for one human being to love another is perhaps the most precious and fulfilling gift that has been entrusted to us. It is an all-consuming task, a lifelong endeavor — the journey we’ve been preparing for all of our lives. Loving someone is a reason to stretch beyond our limits, to become more for the sake of the other. It is to look into the soul of your beloved and accept what you see. Loving is the ultimate commitment which challenges humans to become all that we are meant to be. As they join in marriage today, Elm and Qrow are announcing to the world that they are welcoming that challenge."

Elm was already crying, which made Qrow laugh gently, reaching his calloused hand up to gently wipe at her face.

"Dust, Elm, if you start crying I'm going to," he muttered under his breath, making her laugh quietly.

"Then you're going to be sobbing, birdy."

He rolled his eyes at the familiar joke, pulling closer.

"Would you like to say some vows?" the officiant asked.

Elm beamed down at Qrow, who laughed and gently gestured for her to go first.

"From the day I met you, nothing changed."

Qrow burst out laughing already, and Elm chuckled.

"My life didn't stop, I wasn't star struck by your good looks or your smile... I didn't think anything had changed. I was already in love, I was already in a committed relationship, and I was only mildly interested in the new member of the team. At the time, I hadn't realized that you would be the single most important person in my life, the person I would be standing up at the alter with. But despite the surprise, there's no place I'd rather be in this moment, no person I'd rather have here. Today's unquestionably the best day of my life. And I know that you and I were both in love with Clover, and I wish that he could be standing up here with us, but I know that he's smiling down at us right now. I know he's happy that we've been able to find love in the wreckage of tragedy. And I know you've never said this, but... I know you're scared I don't love you like I loved him," Elm pulled Qrow closer and set her forehead down against his own. "I love you with all my heart, Qrow, and I could never love anyone more than I love you."

Qrow tried to hide it, but he was already sniffling, tears glistening in his eyes.

"I love you too, Elm. You're... you're everything I've ever hoped for in life, but never thought I'd find. Almost all of my life has felt like a comedy, like there was someone that was watching every moment of my existence and had a very sadistic sense of humor. But... you're the best thing that's ever happened to me, the best thing I've ever hoped for. You're the perfect person for me, and, although I'll always love Clover, and I'll always love him, but... Elm, I love you that much too. I'll always love both of you the same, and what happened with him won't ever change that."

Qrow let out a sigh and shook his head, starting to curse under his breath.

"Dust, I feel like I'm saying it all wrong."

Elm laughed and shook her head quickly.

"No, no, I get it. You're saying it perfectly. And, if I can just say it, it's very cute."

Qrow flushed and shook his head, laughing.

"What I'm trying to say is that... Elm, I love you with all that I am, no matter what happened with Clover. For the rest of my life, you'll be everything I need and more. I'm the luckiest man in the world to be here today with you standing in front of me, here at the alter."

Elm grinned at him, almost bouncing up and down on the tips of her toes.

Ruby held out the rings hurriedly.

"Do you, Elm, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?" the officiant asked.

Elm nodded enthusiastically, slipping the ring onto Qrow's finger.

"I do!"

"And do you, Qrow, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

Almost before the man could finish his sentence, Qrow had already responded.

"I do," he said, slipping the ring onto her finger with a fond smile on his face.

"You may now kiss the bride."

Elm grabbed Qrow around the waist while he reached his hands up to cradle her face, connecting their lips with a mix of reverie and enthusiasm.

Elm suddenly lifted him into the air, letting out a sound of excitement as the pair moved closer.

Behind them, Taiyang let out a laugh (only silencing when Ruby elbowed him in the ribs).

Elm set him down gently a few moments later, grinning at him goofily.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," he replied, reaching one hand down to set on her arm, squeezing it gently.


	54. Catching Up

The wedding had been yesterday, and everyone was still on a sort of high from the excitement, chattering happily in the friend group about the happy couple. It was because of this enthusiastic distraction that the group had forgotten what day today was, and why they'd been caught off guard.

Typically, the first class reunion occurred five years after graduation, but the classes from the past few years were, obviously, abnormal.

Today was the day that the last few classes were getting together. A large amount of the class hadn't returned to Beacon this year, either having transferred to other schools or quit their careers as aspiring Huntsmen and Huntresses.

Yang hadn't remembered, which she didn't think she should be blamed for. Dust, she had **more** than enough things on her mind to excuse her lapse of memory. She still had to worry about her pregnant wife **and** sister, her uncle had just gotten married, and she still had lessons to plan! (Not to mention Blake was still considering buying a van and she wasn't sure where _that_ line of thought was going, and she should always be a little bit worried when it came to her faunus wife considering she could often get an idea and run with it).

As Yang was walking through the hallway, idly messing with the gauntlet on her left wrist, which she had had to re-calibrate the night before after the wedding, she heard a loud voice call out.

"Xiao Long, is that you?!"

Yang jumped and spun, barely stopping herself from sending out a shot from her gaunlet, which she had pointed at the unknown aggressor.

_Xiao Long? Nobody's called me that since-_

A form rushed forward and threw their arms around Yang's shoulders, pulling her in for a hug.

"Dust! It's been way too long!"

Yang hesitated, taking a moment to figure out what was going on.

"Jemina?!" Yang cried in shock, reaching her arms up to grab the girl around her back, squeezing her in a tight hug.

"The one and only!" the girl cried, pulling back just slightly so that she could look up at the other girl.

"Wh... what are you doing here?!" Yang cried.

Jemina raised an eyebrow, staring at Yang.

"What do you mean 'what am I doing here?' I'm here for the reunion! And that's one weird way to say hello to your old best friend!"

Yang's mind whirled with thoughts, and she shook her head in an attempt to clear it.

"Right! Sorry, I almost forgot... it's good to see you!" she cried, moving her hands back a little and setting them on her friend's waist as Jemina held Yang around the shoulders.

The woman squirmed slightly.

"Dust, Xiao Long, what's wrong with your hand?" she asked, looking down. Her eyes widened in shock, and Yang pulled away quickly, her hand retracting and self consciously pulling closer to her chest.

"I, uh... it's a long story, but suffice to say, I lost it," Yang replied, reaching her mechanical hand up to wiggle the fingers of her prosthetic. Yang let out a quiet laugh at the look of shock on her old friend's face.

Yang gave her an awkward smile and shrugged.

"A lot's happened, I guess," the blond said.

"Uh, yeah, I'd say so!" Jemina said slowly, staring down at the hand.

Yang debated hiding it behind her back, but her thoughts were cut short at the sound of loud footsteps against the ground. The blond glanced up at the sound, and was met by-

"Garriet?! Is that you?!" she cried, eyes wide.

The boy grinned at her, the look almost like a playful smirk.

The two had a quick hug, his gaze shooting to her arm.

"What happened?!"

"A lot," Yang paused to consider. "Like... **a lot**."

Garret gave her a questioning look, and Yang hurried to change the subject.

"So how have you two been?! What's going on?!"

"I've been alright. Mostly just taking some time off, thinking if I really wanted to be a Huntress," Jemina said.

"What'd you decide?" Yang asked, inwardly rolling her eyes and knowing that her old friend was used to having to be prompted to continue telling stories.

"I'm not cut out to be a Huntress. I'm going to be," she paused for dramatic moment, "a fashion designer!"

Yang barely held in a laugh, and she gave the girl a tight-lipped smile.

"That's... great! I'm very happy for you," the blond finally said, barely holding back a snort. "How about you?" she asked Garriet, hoping that she could held distract herself from what her friend had said.

Yang turned to face Garriet, who offered her a familiar and almost playful smirk.

"I'm definitely a Huntsman at heart. I'm going to Haven now."

Yang gave him a small smile.

"That's great! Haven's a wonderful school."

Garriet was about to continue questioning Yang, but Jamina cut in.

"Yeah, yeah, that's enough about us! What are _you_ up to, Xiao Long?! You still hanging out with that team of yours?"

Garriet snorted and shook his head wistfully.

"Oh, that's right! I almost forgot that she pretty much dropped us for those three!"

Yang flushed, remembering it **very** differently. Where her old friends remembered her slipping away for new friends, Yang remembered pulling away to spend more time with her future wives.

"Uh, yeah, the team's pretty good. **Really** good, actually! We're... we're pretty happy," Yang said with a small, fond smile on her face.

Jemina frowned, raising an eyebrow.

Yang coughed and shook her head, flushing just slightly at the words.

"Well, what about _you_?" Garriet pressed.

Yang almost forgot that they didn't know anything that had happened since... well, since way before she'd started dating her current wives! It was crazy to think!

"I'm...," Yang hesitated, and a wide grin formed on her lips, "I'm amazing, actually."

Jemina smirked and elbowed her in the ribs.

"Finally find yourself a man?" she asked.

Yang's eyes widened and she shook her head. She'd almost forgotten that she'd actually thought that there were guys out there that were more attractive than Blake and Weiss. Dust, she'd thought that guys were attractive! DUST! She'd thought that someone _other than her current wives_ might be fun to go out with. Maybe things **had** changed more than she'd thought.

"Definitely not."

"That ring of yours says otherwise," Jemina said, gesturing at Yang's left hand. "Looks like someone's **engaged**!" she squealed.

Garriet's eyes widened in disbelief.

"You are?!" he cried.

"No! No, definitely not engaged!" Yang said with a laugh, holding up her hand. She was about to continue, but Garriet cut in.

"Good. It definitely hasn't been long enough since we were at school for you to know that you've found the right guy, after all."

Yang laughed again and shook her head.

"Uh, well... I'm married, actually. But I didn't meet them after we left school."

"To who?!" Garriet spluttered.

Just then, a red blur shot down the hallway, and Yang spun to grab her sister, glad that the blur hadn't been caused by the semblance, but instead because of her hurried pace.

"Hey, Rubes, don't go that fast. You know it isn't good for you," she said, reaching one hand down to cradle her sister's stomach.

Ruby rolled her eyes and spun on her heels, impatiently waiting for Blake to join them.

"Did you know that today was the reunion?!" Ruby cried suddenly.

Blake let out a quiet laugh, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, Ruby, I knew that today was the reunion."

"Then why didn't you tell us?!" Yang cried, eyes wide.

"I thought you knew!" Blake replied, but she gave Yang a fond smile. "I mean, we were talking about it last night!"

"You should know by now that I do **not** remember things!"

Blake rolled her eyes, leaning forward to set her head on Yang's shoulder.

"Hmm, I guess that's true. Who're your friends, by the way?" the faunus asked, glancing at the two who were watching them with shock.

"Oh! Right! Blake, Rubes, these are Garriet and Jemina. They're my old friends!"

Blake gave them both a kind smile, reaching her hand out to shake theirs.

"Yang, I know who they are, we've met before! You used to spend _all_ your time with them!" Ruby reminded her sister, rolling her eyes. "It's great to see you both again."

Garriet gave her a small, still shocked, smile while Jemina shook Blake's hand.

"Hi, I'm Blake," the faunus said, glancing at Yang with a familiar question in her eyes.

_How do I introduce myself, cause it might be awkward if I say "hi I'm Blake Belladonna-Schnee, married to your old friend because yeah she's gay and we're polyamorous and I'm also in love with her sister who is, by the way, pregnant with not only my child but another woman who isn't here right now and would probably bite your head off because she's crazy hormonal with quadruplets."_

"This is... my partner from Beacon and-"

"Wait a second! Ruby, are you pregnant?!" Jemina cried.

Ruby **beamed** and nodded, reaching one hand up to her stomach as she leaned against Blake's side.

"Yeah, I am!"

"And you're married too?!"

Ruby glanced at her sister, raising an eyebrow as if to say _"you seriously haven't told them yet? I thought we weren't hiding stuff anymore."_

"Who's the lucky guy?" Jemina asked.

Ruby was about to awkwardly respond, but another form rounded the corner and gave her three wives a small, tired smile.

"There you are! I was wondering where you three went!" she said, slipping her hand into Ruby's and squeezing it lightly.

"And this is Weiss, she was Ruby's own partner back at Beacon," Yang said.

Weiss' eyes narrowed, and Yang internally cursed.

"Oh? So _that's_ what I am? Not the mo-"

Blake reached over and set her hand over the former heiress' mouth to stop her from continuing.

Both of Yang's old friends gave her a confused look, and she laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck.

"So... you remember when we stopped hanging out as much-"

"Because you ditched us for your new friends?" Jemina asked, crossing her arms.

Yang winced.

"Not... exactly. I mean, that's not why I stopped hanging out with you guys so much. It's that...," Yang glanced to her sister, who seemed about ready to burst with excitement. Yang gave her a tiny nod and a thankful smile.

"She stopped hanging out with you as much because she fell in love!" Ruby blurted.

Jemina and Garriet both gaped, staring at the blond.

Yang laughed nervously and leaned against Blake's side, the faunus wrapping an arm around her waist.

"With who?!" Jemina demanded as soon as she came out of her stupor.

Yang saw Weiss glaring at her old friends, Blake struggling to keep the hormonal woman quiet.

"With... with both of them," she said, gesturing at Blake and Weiss. "I'm sorry that I stopped hanging out, but I was... having some issues figuring out what to do about it, especially considering _this_ little gremlin," she gestured at her sister, who let out a sound of disgust, "decided that she just **had** to follow in her older sister's footsteps and fall for these two. Can't say I blame her, though. I mean, look at them!"

Weiss rolled her eyes while Blake gave her a fond smile.

"Still doesn't make you good at flirting," Weiss muttered.

"I'm an amazing flirt, thank you very much! After all, I got both you **and** Blake to fall for me! That's pretty impressive!"

"I think that, like most things you do, that was accidental," Weiss said, rolling her eyes. "Or maybe it's because Blake's so charming."

"How does Blake being a good flirt have anything to do with you falling for me?!" Yang cried.

"Because she lowered my guard! I was so cautious and good at guarding my heart, then Ruby lowered it! And then Blake broke down the walls! And then you were able to sneak in!"

"Are you saying that you're less in love with me?" Yang asked, raising an eyebrow.

Weiss rolled her eyes sufferingly, but she gave Yang a fond smile.

"You know that isn't true. I love you all equally. After all, I was at that alter with you, wasn't I?"

"Yes! I remember that! It was a great day!" Ruby chimed in enthusiastically.

"Aw, I love you too, Angel," Yang said, reaching her hand out to grab Weiss around the waist and give her a chaste kiss on the top of her head.

"Can't believe you're doubting my love when I'm carrying _four_ of your babies," she muttered.

Jamina waved her hands quickly, stepping forward and causing team RWBY to turn away from each other, having momentarily forgotten that Yang's old friends were there.

"What's going on?!" she cried.

"Oh! Right!" Yang said, gesturing at her sister, who **beamed**.

"Long story short, we fell in love, saved the world, made a bunch of friends, got married, started teaching, got pregnant, realized we were having seven children, and now we're here."

A beat of silence.

"I think we're going to have to take it a bit slower," Blake whispered.


	55. Crash Course

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 1) Sorry for not updating earlier, I was spending all day with my mom and giving her a great mother's day!  
> 2) You all know how much I like to do recaps for the story when I can in funny versions... I think this one might be the best.

Yang let out a quiet laugh as Weiss suddenly gasping, scrambling to get a piece of paper from her pocket.

"I'm telling you, Angel, that's really not going to work," Yang said.

Weiss shot her a scathing glare while Blake set her hand on the former heiress' shoulder gently.

"I think this is a very good idea, Angel," the faunus said. Yang sent her a look of betrayal, and Blake gave her a smirk before placing a quick kiss to the cress of Weiss' head.

That little traitor was just saying that so that Weiss wouldn't give her the glare of death!

Maybe... maybe Yang should be doing that sort of thing... after all, Blake hadn't been threatened by sleeping on the couch _once_ while Yang had been _five times_! Even though Weiss hadn't gone through with it (yet).

Weiss finally pulled out a pamphlet, which she passed to Yang's old friends hastily.

"I decided that it would be a good idea to make a few of these for when people were... confused by our relationship," the former heiress said as Yang's old friends took the paper to look at together.

"I did the drawings!" Ruby added on enthusiastically.

"They look like kid's drawings," Jamina pointed out as she opened the pamphlet, revealing stick figure people that looked vaguely like team RWBY.

Blake sent the woman a dark glare as she wrapped an arm around Ruby's waist tightly, pulling her wife closer and making the pregnant woman laugh.

Weiss sniffed and crossed her arms darkly.

"You don't have to read the pamphlet," she said snidely, making Yang reach out to pull Weiss closer, hoping it would calm the former heiress.

Jemina paled slightly and looked to Yang, who shot her an apologetic smile, wishing she could mention that the hormones were making Weiss crazy, but the former heiress would possibly kill her for the words... and Yang rather wanted to be alive for the birth of her children.

Jamina flipped through the pages silently, Garriet at her side.

On the first page, there was a passage of writing, clearly Weiss' due to the quality and air of formality to the words.

_Team RWBY is in a polyamorous relationship that consists every imaginable combination of the four, excluding any that would include incest, meaning that Ruby and Yang are not romantically involved with one another, despite both being in love with Weiss and Blake. They all share the last name Belladonna-Schnee, and are currently pregnant with seven children, three of which Ruby is carrying while Weiss carries the other four._

On the next page, Ruby had drawn the four of them in Beacon for the first page, the horrible stick figure of Weiss having a speech bubble that read "Ruby, I don't like you and you shouldn't be team leader!" while stick figures Yang and Blake looked on (though the faunus was reading a poorly drawn book). Underneath the picture, Weiss' precise handwriting described the scene.

_Ruby Rose had been chosen team captain of team RWBY after Ruby and Weiss were partnered alongside Yang and Blake._

The third page had Weiss standing beside a sitting Ruby, handing her what was probably supposed to be a mug, but looked more like a blob of drawing. "I'm sorry, Ruby. I was wrong," a speech bubble above the stick figure read.

 _Weiss apologized to Ruby for being rather arrogant and vowed to be a better teammate and friend._ Underneath Weiss' writing, Ruby had added her own note. _This is when Ruby got a crush on Weiss._

The fourth page had Weiss, who had her stick arms crossed as she glared at the room. "I hate faunus! They're ruffions" (yes, misspelled) "and the White Fang is a stupid organization!" her speech bubble read. Beside her, there was a stick figure of Blake with a bow that was far larger than her head was, a bubble above her reading "Maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!"

 _Weiss, although trying to turn over a new leaf, had hurt her new friend's feelings without realizing that Blake herself was a cat faunus, who was also a former member of the White Fang organization._ Under Weiss' writing, Blake had added some words as well. _A decision that she still regrets and could have handled better when Weiss expressed her distaste for the organization._

Another horrible diagram showed the four girls hugging, awkwardly with stick arms. "I'm so sorry," Weiss' bubble read, coupled with Blake's that replied, "I forgive you and hope we can still be friends."

(Weiss had internally groaned at the horrible dialogue, but had been unable to tell Ruby how _horrific_ the words had been, because she physically incapable of wiping that enthusiastic puppy smile off her wife's face).

 _Blake, after some destructive decisions and time alone, returned to her team and reconciled with Weiss._ Blake's handwriting was scrawled underneath Weiss' narration. _One of the best decisions of her life._ Even further down the page, Ruby had written, _look at those adorable little ears!_ coupled with an arrow that pointed all the way up to Blake's stick figure cat ears, which, even drawn so horribly, still looked rather cute (something that Weiss did **not** understand).

A few more pages passed, and soon the four were separated into two groups. The sisters were sitting outside on a balcony talking while Blake and Weiss were in their dorm room. The stick figures of Ruby and Yang were having a conversation as follows:

Yang: I have a crush on Blake.

Ruby: Really?

Yang: Yeah.

Ruby: That's crazy, sis! I have a crush on Weiss!

Meanwhile...

Weiss: You don't have to wear your bow in the dorm room you know.

Blake: That's very sweet, Weiss.

On the next page, stick figure Blake had taken off her bow, and Weiss stared at her with disproportionately large eyes. Above her, the stick figure version of Weiss had a thought bubble that read "dust she's so pretty."

_Weiss was suddenly realizing she had non-platonic feelings for Blake while Ruby and Yang discussed their feelings for their respective partners. This realization on Weiss' part was a shock, partly because her teammate was both a girl **and** a faunus, but because she had also thought she had feelings for Neptune._

Underneath the words, Ruby had drawn a stick figure with poop on its head, which she labeled "Neptune" with angry lettering.

The next picture showed Yang and Ruby walking into the room with a Weiss that was almost on the ground, staring at her teammates in disbelief (well, as much disbelief that a stick figure drawn by Ruby could exhibit).

 _Weiss found that she had romantic feelings for all three of her teammates soon thereafter, and hurried out of the room_.

There were dozens of pages that showed the four girls of team RWBY embarrassed and saddened by their feelings for one another, which they assumed to be unrequited, spanning across months. It depicted Weiss complaining about her feelings to Nora and Pyrrha, Ruby and Yang talking to one another about their attempts to flirt, Blake's sudden realization of her feelings (which Ruby had depicted before writing the word "DUH!" in block lettering that took up almost an entire page), the introduction of Ilia to the blossoming group, and finally...

They were met by team RWBY in stick figure four, all standing in their dorm room, which was poorly drawn by a hasty hand, as if Ruby had been enthusiastic to get to this part and draw it for the world to see.

Blake stood in front of her future girlfriends in stick figure form with her ears given surprising detail, drooping forward as she shyly looked at the three. Her speech bubble read "I have feelings for all three of you." The next few pages had poorly drawn images of the girls kissing one another.

_Apparently, the four girls had been dancing around their feelings for one another for months upon months, and finally everything clicked into place after Blake was unable to hold in her feelings (after a day, mind you)._

Blake's writing indignantly followed.

_Just because **I** was the only one with the guts doesn't mean you can make fun of me. In fact, it means I should be the one making fun of **you** three cowards._

Yang's writing was next.

_We flirted with you for months! Of course you weren't scared, we did everything but scream "I love you!" at top volume._

They flipped a few more pages and saw Coco and Velvet laying on their beds in stick form.

Velvet's speech bubble read "Coco, I've been in love with you since first year."

Coco's, in response, read "no way me too!"

_Spurred on by a message from Blake about her new relationship with her teammates and girlfriends, Velvet decided to declare her love for her own team leader, Coco Adel, who reciprocated her feelings excitedly._

A few flips passed.

_Due to Ilia's fight against Cinder, Pyrrha was able to gain the strength to finish her own internal struggle so that she could burst from her chamber to protect Ilia, whom, she realized in that moment, she had fallen in love with._

Pyrrha's stick figure stabbed Cinder's with a sword while Pyrrha's speech bubble proclaimed, "Ilia Amitola I'm in love with you!" Ilia's figure responded "I love too! I mean, uh, I'm... I'm in love with you too, Pyrrha!"

A few more pages later, and the pair was met by Ciel and Neopolitan's stick figures sitting on a poorly drawn train with a smiling Penny at Ciel's side.

_While on a transport train to Atlas, Ciel was seduced by a mysterious and mute criminal by the name of Neopolitan, who escaped soon after, but not without leaving a note for Ciel to tell her that she'd be back soon, if only to see her "Gorgeous face."_

To highlight what Weiss had written, Ruby had drawn a myriad of hearts around Ciel's head and had Neopolitan winking at the student with a smirk. The next few pages were littered with small tidbits about the two and drawings of heart-eyed Ciel and flirtatious Neo, who, in one picture, even held a rose up to the student (which Weiss had noted in her narration was entirely fictitious).

A few more flips.

The ball was being held, and several **terrible** stick figures danced with one another while outside Neo and Ciel shared their first drawn kiss. Inside, Ruby and Weiss were waltzing, the former heiress chastising her in her speech bubble, while Yang and Blake stared at each other lovingly. Penny was dancing with Winter, whose stick figure Ruby had drawn with a bright red face and accompanied with the words "she should have just confessed earlier, because she was really obvious."

More pages passed by.

Stick figure Nora threw herself into the poorly drawn limbs of stick figure Ren, who cuaght her as they started to kiss.

 _After years of friendship starting from a tender young age, Nora and Ren were finally able to get over their fears and kiss one another, which was good for team RWBY and Penny, who had been having to deal with the weird and awkward tension for the whole evening._ Underneath this, in three other sets of handwriting, there was a chorus of agreements about the annoying tension between the pair.

A few more pages.

The fight against Emerald by Winter and Penny was shown, though poorly.

 _Winter was set to become the next Winter Maiden-_ Weiss' handwriting was interrupted by Yang's own, which pointed out the irony and the pun of the naming situation - _but as Penny put her life on the line to save Winter's the Maiden awoke and started to create a whirlwind of snow, which only the metallic Huntress and protector of Mantle could pass through._

The next picture showed the Maiden dying as Penny accepted the powers with an astonished look (shown by a mouth that was drawn in a perfect circle).

_Because of this, Penny became the next Winter Maiden and was able to save Winter from their adversary, but not before the Special Agent suffered significant wounds from the battle._

A few more pages, and Winter was laying in Penny's lap, kissing her stick figure soundly.

_Winter Schnee, finally, admitted she had romantic feelings for Penny, who reciprocated (much to the surprise of everyone on that airship, including Winter's own sister, who was very disgusted by this showcase of affection in such a public place)._

Ruby's handwriting was scrawled beneath Weiss' own.

_We have TONS of PDA, Angel, you have no room to complain._

Blake and Yang had both written their own agreements to the sentiment, followed by Weiss delicately marking through all three comments (though thinly enough that they could still be read without difficultly).

Pages upon pages of the story passed.

Ren and Nora were shown to be embracing stick figure Jaune, which stick figure Nora soon kissed a moment later.

_Despite his rather... distasteful qualities, Nora and Ren fell for their team leader._

Ruby had crossed out the words "distasteful qualities" while Yang had written in bold lettering " **LOL!** " next to them.

More pages were flipped.

Salem was killed, leaving Yang without her arm.

The group of friends were shown to heal with one another.

Sun was introduced and shown winking at Ilia and Pyrrha in stick figure form, his poorly drawn tail wrapping around his fellow faunus' waist as he raced through hallways to join in their shenanigans that he didn't fully understand at the time, though was clearly enjoying.

Ruby stick figure realized she wanted to get married, shown by a light bulb being drawn over her head.

 _Best realization ever. 10/10. Would recommend_ , Ruby had written on that page.

 _"I want to get married." Worst line for one sister to say to another sister, 0/10, would not recommend,_ Yang had scrawled underneath.

 _Best romantic epiphany, 10/10, would say yes to any proposal,_ Blake added.

 _Worst running joke, 0/10, would advise wives to stop,_ Weiss had contributed.

A few pages were passed by, and Ruby and Yang were shown talking to a stick figure version of Weiss' mother.

"We wanna marry your daughter," Ruby's said.

"And we really don't care if you say no because you're a homophobic, racist, alcoholic," Yang's stick figure said.

"I want you to get married," Willow's figure said.

"I apologize," Yang's figure said a page later, a large star drawn around the words, courtesy of Weiss.

There was an entire page dedicated to a detailed drawing of Sun, which Weiss had made with surprising accuracy and quality, that read "World's Best Man" at the top.

Sun's figure laid on the grass watching an ugly sunset that Ruby had drawn.

"Yo I'm in love with you two," Sun's figure said.

"Me too, monkey man," Ilia's responded.

"Ditto," Pyrrha's replied.

"Seriously, did you stop trying with the dialogue at this point?" Weiss whispered to Ruby, who shrugged.

"I don't know how it happened!" she defended.

"Have you ever heard Sun say 'yo?!' Or Pyrrha say ' **ditto** '?!" Blake hissed.

Ruby shrugged.

"I had to improvise!"

Another page, and the four were drawn in grand detail, this time once again due to Weiss' artistic talent, and standing at the alter with friends and family surrounding them.

_Team RWBY, after years of trials and almost losing each other, were finally joined together in marriage._

_The best day in human history,_ Ruby scrawled.

 _The luckiest day of my life,_ Blake added.

 _The moment I'll cherish until I'm six feet under,_ Yang had written underneath.

More pages were passed of them shown at school teaching students.

Finally, an ultrasound photo was added on the last page that had been used, an actual copy of the original photos.

On the page after the photos, Weiss had written: _Not the end, not the middle, but a point in time which we call the present that will be cherished even as more memories are added to this pamphlet. -Blake Belladonna-Schnee._

"Jemina, are you crying?!" Yang asked, eyes wide.

Her old friend wiped at her eyes.

"N-no... of course not!" she sniffled. "But... maybe I can forgive you for growing apart... you clearly had more important things to get to in life. More important people to spend it with."

Yang smiled and wrapped an arm around both of her wives.

"If I believed in destiny, I'd be waiting for death, because I'd think I fulfilled mine already," Yang said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was inspired by lots of comments and my own original ideas!


	56. Cruel and Unusual Punishment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took a while!

_Terresa was more than sure that not only one, but **two** of her fellow teammates had feelings for Alea, their team leader. And, typically, if she were watching this play out, she would just lean back and watch, perhaps laughing whenever Lexey awkwardly tried to flirt with compliments and Stacey tried to show Alea a side of her that wasn't straight up bitch (as Terresa now referred to her as). But, it seemed that Terresa had herself caught feelings for their weirdly charismatic team leader, so... this was definitely not a comedy movie for Terresa to sit back and watch, but more so a horror and drama that she had to reluctantly took part in because she **really** liked Alea... and because she'd be **damned** if she let Stacey win Alea over, because she'd made it her personal mission in life to destroy any happiness that stuck up woman could ever have._

_Terresa supposed that, if not herself, Lexey would be the best option for Alea. She could definitely live with that human saint getting the girl for once in her life because, let's face it, that girl just seemed to radiate with "I still haven't had my first kiss yet and am saving that for the perfect person because I'm a human angel and am waiting to find the first person that I deem worthy of me, and if I pick the wrong person and they hurt me I will never have another good relationship in my life because of them" energy._

_To sum it up, Terresa didn't want to see the other girl get hurt, so she decided not to directly get in the way of Lexey because.... well, she was just so dust damn cute! Terresa had frowned at the thought and shook her head. That had been far too much of an over analysis for the other girl, and Terresa wasn't sure where it had come from._

_She turned her attention to Stacey, who was currently sitting across from Alea, giving her a slight smile that, to a casual observer, would seem just like a friendly expression. For anyone that knew Stacey, the smile basically said "hey, hey, pay attention to me, specifically by sticking your tongue down my throat." Terresa thought that Stacey almost looked like a cat that was drawing in another animal with the seductive look before reaching forward to bat at them before jumping away, just so the other animal would chase her until, inevitably, she let herself be caught. It was an odd process to watch, considering Alea just gave her a small smirk and a wink before turning back to her paperwork as if she hadn't noticed the attention that Stacey was giving her. Stacey had seemed surprised the first time this happened, as if Alea was using Stacey's own flirtatious technique for her own advantage, yet didn't seem to care that Stacey was creeping ever closer in her attempts to woo her team leader. Terresa had seen her use this expression before, though normally focused on Alea. A few times, she'd used it on Lexey, but Terresa couldn't blame her! Who wouldn't be interested in the innocent and slightly awkward girl? Dust, Terresa herself had found the other girl more than a fair bit attractive when they'd met, but had given up upon seeing how head over heels she was for the team leader._

_Terresa herself had taken a different approach from her teammates to gaining the attention of their team leader, one that she thought was far more straight forward and far less difficult to understand. She spent time with her, had light flirting with weird comments, and **almost** treated her like a friend. It was the equivalent of her putting herself **near** the friend zone, but staying far enough away to leave a difference, allowing herself to occasional flirt and comment that definitely wasn't appropriate for friends to be saying to one another in that way._

_So Terresa understood what was going on with herself, Lexey, and (mostly) Stacey, but... what was going on in Alea's head?!_

_Despite how strong her feelings for Alea were, she was sure that the team leader was **definitely** milking the fact that all three of her teammates were into her. She was constantly getting favors, constantly doing things with them and being flirtatious so that they wouldn't be able to get over her, and was always just **so** over the top. She either wanted to see how far she could take this before she had to choose (meaning how much she could get out of her teammates, both in terms of favors and enjoyment from watching them fight over her) or she didn't like any of them and didn't want to choose (despite having fun toying with her feelings)._

_Alea must be the world's cruelest person! Despite her being adorable and kind and flirtatious... but how could she leave them all dangling like this?!_

_/_

_Alea hummed happily as she leaned back in her seat, watching Stacey with a small smirk._

_Stacey looked up at her and gave her a small smile with that weird look in her eyes._

_"Dust," Alea thought to herself. "I'm the luckiest team leader **ever**! I have the best friends on my team!!!"_


	57. Alea

_Alea had heard a lot of things in her life about her personality. Her own mother had called her several... words that should never be repeated, but could be summarized into a single word that she **would** say to someone. She was flirtatious. She was. She didn't know why, she didn't mean to, and she certainly didn't know how to stop. All Alea tried to be was be kind! A small smile to show you'er happy to see someone, but not so wide that it looked creepy. A wink could be used for a hello or an inside joke or even just to make someone laugh!_

_Her peers when she was in school a few years back had always suggested that she slept around, that she was "easy." She'd never understood why everyone said that! She hadn't even had her first kiss yet, and the idea of ever kissing someone seemed far-fetched and even slightly terrifying!_

_Alea wasn't flirtatious, she was kind._

_Alea wasn't winking because she **liked** someone, but more because she liked someone in a platonic way!_

_She couldn't be judged for not realizing when other people flirted "back" with her, which her former friends always found hilarious. She just saw those flirtatious comments as someone being friendly with her, because she was trying to act the same with them! Those former friends that had enjoyed making fun of her for not realizing when the different big shots in their school were flirting with her had stopped hanging out with her when she'd caught the attention of their school's teen heart throb. Or, well, heart **throbs** ,that is, considering both the most popular guy **and** girl had fallen for her during their final year of school, after she'd had her final growth spurt and gotten... to quote her old friend "the best bitch slap that puberty ever gave."_

_Alea had, eventually, realized that her old friend had meant she looked attractive, though she hadn't thought so. She still felt like the little nerd in the back of the class that had frizzy hair and horrible acne. But, apparently, **several** people in their school had agreed with that statement._

_When Derik, their male heart throb at their old academy, had fallen for her, all of her female friends had grown jealous, considering their crush now found her irresistible. The same had happened when Sherry, the female equivalent of Derik, had started flirting with her, and her male friends were now jealous._

_The weirdest part, was that Alea had no idea why all of her friends were suddenly turning on her. But she had been super excited when suddenly Derik and Sherry had started acting like they wanted to be friends with her! So she started hanging out with them outside of class and going to movies with both of them! But then... then both of them had started acting weird with one another **and** her until Derik had blown up to ask if she was cheating on him over scroll messages._

_Alea had been, understandably, confused, and hurried to Sherry's house to ask what their mutual friend had been talking about, and that had led to Sherry getting angry as well._

_Alea had then come back to her own house, crying and wondering why everyone had suddenly started betraying her. Was she a bad friend? Alea hadn't thought so! She paid for meals and tickets for movies, pulled out chairs for Sherry when they went to lunch, always made sure to text back right away with heart emojis to show how much she cared, and..._

_Alea had taken two hours of deep thought before she'd realized that her old friends had been right. She really was oblivious to flirting, and she'd hurt everyone around her by not realizing what she was doing! But when she tried to make it up to Derik, Sherry, and her old friends, none of them had wanted to talk to her, and she'd spent the rest of the year socially isolated as people gossiped about her having been a two timing... **person** that had broken dozens of hearts._

_That had been a dark time in her life, in which Alea had wondered if she wasn't smart enough to be a Huntress, wondered if she should just stay away from people in general so that she wouldn't hurt anyone or mess anything up again._

_That had been her plan when she got to Beacon, but then she'd met her new teammates, and they'd all been so nice! They never commented on her being too flirtatious, never made fun of her, reciprocated her kindness... it was a dream come true!_

_That night, when her teammates were asleep and she was laying in bed alone, she reached out to grab her pillow in her arms, squeezing it tightly as she let out a quiet giggle of excitement._

_She'd finally found people that understood she wasn't trying to hurt anyone **and** didn't make fun of her for being too "flirtatious!" They hadn't even mentioned it!_

_Their friendships were so important to her, the thing that she'd been searching for for **years**!_

_Lexey was so sweet and kind to her, always so innocent and sincere whenever they spoke, doing heart felt little gestures that made her feel loved. Even Derik and Sherry hadn't done that for Alea, and she'd thought they were the best friends she'd ever had!_

_Terresa was so open to her. She was snarky and lippy, but she was funny and even sweet when she needed to be for her teammates. Despite her rivalry with Stacey, she really did care for her teammates, and she treated them with such protectiveness when anyone treated them poorly._

_Stacey was cold and distant, seeming like she was indifferent to other people and their emotions, but underneath she was just a cute little fluffy teddy bear, especially when it came to Lexey and Alea. Alea found that trait to be the cutest one Stacey had, specifically when she treated Lexey like that, considering she was the most open and honest person on their team and needed support._

_Alea's only problem with her newfound friends/teammates was Stacey and Terresa's rivalry._

_Alea considered for a moment before she stood, gaining Stacey's attention._

_Alea gave her a small smirk and a wink._

_"I'll be right back, Beautiful," she said. She liked to give her friends little compliments like that so that they knew never to doubt themselves, so that they knew someone out there cared for them so greatly._

_Stacey smiled at her bashfully and nodded, looking back at her paper with a small blush._

_Alea purposefully strode over to Lexey, sitting down on the bed beside her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders, pulling close._

_Lexey let out a sound of shock, staring at her with wide eyes. Alea was a little surprised by the reaction, considering Lexey usually liked physical affection and close contact. After a moment, Lexey gave her a small, shy smile and tucked some hair behind her ear._

_"Hey," Alea whispered. "I need a favor."_

_"W-what is it?" Lexey asked, face turning a light shade of pink. Alea distantly thought it was a cute look on the other girl._

_"We need to find a way to get Stacey and Terresa to stop arguing. We're all supposed to be friends, right?"_

_Lexey nodded, though she looked slightly upset. Alea chalked it up to their mutual friends and their constant rivalry._

_"Good! I knew I could count on you, Lex. You're awesome," Alea said, leaning closer and pressing her side against Lexey's own, giving her a quick kiss on the head before pulling away and walking back to Stacey. She walked in her normal saunter, which she used purposefully. She thought it was a good way to walk, giving her an advantage of being steady on her feet if Grimm suddenly appeared to attack (though many of her friends when she was at the academy had said it was a very suggestive way to walk. She hadn't know what that meant, so she'd ignored it from then on)._

_She sat down across from Stacey and gave her a wide smile as she pulled out her scroll._

_**Alea:** Hi! <3_

_**Lexey:** Hey!_

_**Alea:** Hope you have a plan, cause you're the smart one._

_Lexey flushed, but Alea didn't notice as she turned back to her homework she had been working on._

_**Lexey:** I've got a few ideas._

_**Alea:** See? You're the smart one!_

_Before Alea could see a response from Lexey, Stacey let out a huff and leaned closer across the table so that she could see Alea's homework, leaning across the entire table._

_Alea frowned and tilted her head slightly to the side, lifting her gaze up so that her eyes landed on her teammate's rather... exposed chest. Stacey's breath hitched, and she thought that she was finally catching her attention in the way she wanted. She was about to speak (planning to say "like what you see?"), but Alea cut her off._

_"Hey, Stacey, your shirt button came undone," she said._

_Stacey barely stopped herself from letting out a groan, and Alea gave her a kind smile that looked more like a flirtatious smirk._

_"Thanks," she finally said, reaching her hands up to rebutton her shirt. Her tone was sarcastic, as her word implied. Alea didn't seem to notice, giving her a wink that only served to confuse Stacey **further**!_

_"Course," she said._

_Stacey took a deep breath to calm herself._

_"I was just about to ask if you'd help me with this. I'm a bit lost," Stacey said, gesturing at the homework._

_"Sure, beautiful," she said, patting beside her so that Stacey would come over to sit beside her, giving them a better angle to work together._

_Stacey slid over and took advantage of the situation, smirking as her thigh pressed up against Alea's._

_Alea glanced over at her and smirked, making Stacey's stomach explode in butterflies._

_What was going on in their team leader's head?!_

_Alea took the piece of paper and started to walk her through the steps of the problem, leaning closer to Stacey._

_She really did have the best teammates!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone who's come this far in this story can probably tell that I like showing you how people see a character and their actions then comparing it to their motivations (Ivy, Rachel, Natalie, Alea, etc.) I like to do this because that's one of my ONLY qualities that I like about myself. I give everyone as much benefit of the doubt as possible, and it makes life way easier, so I hope that maybe this will make someone else take a step back in a problem they're having in their life with someone. Just think about all the reasons they might have for doing something!


	58. Conversations

Yang laughed and threw an arm around Jemina's shoulders.

"Can't believe you went and got married! Always thought you might go dying alone!" Jemina said, making Yang huff and rolling her eyes.

"Hey! That's not very nice!"

"And Ruby's **pregnant**?! What?!" Jemina cried.

Ruby grinned and leaned against Blake as she laughed excitedly.

"What you should really be surprised about is that Yang's going to be trusted with children," Ruby replied, making Jemina burst out laughing while Yang rolled her eyes.

"Dust, Rubes, you're still a child!" Jemina cried.

Ruby pouted and looked at Blake to defend her, but the faunus held up her hands.

"I'm not saying that she'd right, but...," Blake trailed off.

Ruby gaped at her.

"Blakey!" she whined. "You're my wife! You're supposed to take my side!"

"Weiss is also your wife, but you don't expect blind agreement from her!" Blake replied, giving her a small smirk. Ruby considered for a moment before she turned to face Blake again.

"You're my _sweet_ wife! You're supposed to take my side!"

Weiss shot Ruby a glare while Blake tried to hold in a laugh, struggling to keep herself from smiling. It was difficult, and she tried to change the topic. Luckily for her, Jemina did it for her.

"So how accurate was that pamphlet? I mean, all the taking down these evil, demon ladies? What **really** happened with you four while you were gone?"

Blake glanced at her wives and raised an eyebrow, but Yang didn't seem to really care about her hesitance.

"Oh, it was definitely all real. I mean, the dialogue wasn't, but other than that, it was pretty accurate," Yang said.

Jemina let out a fake laugh, rolling her eyes.

"Fine! Don't tell me!" she said.

Yang scoffed and shook her head.

"Why even ask if you're not gonna believe the answer?" the blond asked, throwing up her arms with a small eye roll.

"Because that's a stupid answer," Jemina responded.

Yang scoffed and looked back to Weiss and Blake for help.

Neither of them offered it, so Yang huffed and, for the next five minutes, spent her time convincing her old friends that everything in the pamphlet had been true, including Neopolitan. Jemin hadn't believed the whole Ciel and Neo wedding, having remembered the criminal had been very well known and even **more** wanted by the law so that they could throw her in jail and lock her away.

Yang had had to throw open a classroom door and borrow Neo in the middle of a class to show her off to her old friend (Neo had done as asked, but given fancy stances and poses that made Yang roll her eyes before shoving Neo back into the classroom toward her irritated wife).

That had been the final piece of evidence that had convinced the pair of old friends, and Yang had heaved a sigh of relief, leaning against Weiss as if she had just run a marathon instead of just trying to convince two people of random facts.

Weiss shoved her off of her.

"Hey, I'm pregnant, don't add any extra stress. Haven't you heard what Blake's been saying for the past few months?" the former heiress asked, smirking.

Yang rolled her eyes.

"Thought you were tired of her over protectiveness," Yang said.

Weiss smirked.

"Depends."

"On?" Yang prompted.

"If it helps me in the moment."

"But that's not fair!" Yang cried. Weiss smirked.

"But I'm pregnant."

Yang grumbled and huffed, pulling closer to Blake, who started to purr as she set her head on Yang's shoulder.

Ruby and Weiss each held up a hand to their stomachs, glaring at Blake.

"Would you stop that?!" Weiss snapped.

Blake suddenly realized what had happened and she pulled away from Yang, reaching out to put her hands on each of her pregnant wives stomachs.

"Did they react again?" she asked, still purring.

"Yes! Now stop it!" Weiss cried.

Blake ignored her, purring louder as she leaned down.

"You hear that? That's me!" she whispered, smiling so wide that it hurt. "Oh, I can't wait to meet you all. You're going to be the most loved children ever. I wonder if you'll recognize my voice when you're born..."

Weiss slapped at Blake's hands while Ruby giggled, leaning closer to Blake and finding her reaction rather cute.

"What's going on?" Jemina whispered.

"Blake's obsessed with talking to our kids while they're in the womb, and apparently they've been reacting to her purring. It's actually super adorable," Yang replied, smiling fondly.

"They're going to be so amazing," Blake breathed. "They're **already** so amazing."

Ruby rolled her eyes and laughed, pulling away from Blake.

"Hey, come on, calm down," she said gently, making Weiss nod her head emphatically.

"Yeah, no kidding," the former heiress agreed.

Blake laughed and stood, flushing just slightly.

"Right, sorry, got a little carried away."

Ruby laughed and threaded their fingers together as they started to walk down the hallway again.

"That's alright. Now come on, we're late for class, because two _someones_ distracted us," Ruby said.

Yang cursed under her breath, making Blake glare at her darkly.

Yang offered her an apologetic smile and turned to her old friends.

"Who wants to see how I teach?"


	59. And Then There Were Two

Yang had attempted to show her old friends what she did at work, but the two had been overwhelmed with Coco's presence, deciding to step into the hallway and wait for their friend. Jemina couldn't help but feel a bit upset at how Coco and Yang interacted, as if they known each other their whole lives, instead of Jemina and Yang. They treated one another with such familiarity, and even Ren, whom she'd heard about two sentences out of earlier, had seemed so at peace with her old friend, as if their little, or perhaps _giant,_ friend group was a source to draw comfort from.

While Jemina found herself wondering if she'd been a bad friend to Yang or if they'd just never had the chance to bond over a _literal_ war, Garriet started to pace back and forth, running a hand through his hair.

"Something wrong, Gar?" she asked.

He stopped after a moment, staring at her.

"Doesn't it seem... _weird_ to you?" he finally asked, shaking his head.

Jemina's eyebrows furrowed, and she glanced over at her old friend.

"Yang being a teacher? Yeah, kinda. I mean, she was never even a tutor when we went to school with her, but people change. I mean, she _is_ having kids, Gar."

"That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about... _them_!"

"Who?" Jemina asked, raising an eyebrow.

"All four of them! Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang... there's something... weird about them! Yang was never... back when we hung out, she never seemed..."

"Gay?" Jemina asked, setting one fist on her hip with a frown.

Garriet hesitated and ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head.

"I mean, yeah, that too, but... I never thought... **this** is how she'd end up! In some... cult-like relationship!" he cried.

Jemina stared at him in shock, shaking her head.

"Cult-like relationship?! Gar, _what_?! What are you **talking** about, man?!" she cried.

"They... they sucked her in! Her and Ruby! Isn't that what cults do?!"

"Gar, you were one of my best friends for my _entire_ life, but, and I hate to say it, you're acting like a complete asshole and kinda a misogynist," Jemina said.

"It's not misogynist to think it's weird for four women to get married! Especially two of them are sisters!"

"Is this about your old crush on Yang?" Jemina asked, frowning as she tapped her foot in irritation.

Garriet flushed and shook his head.

"What?! No! And I never had a crush on her, Jemina! It's just... it's just **weird** , Jem! **Think** about it! Since when were either of them: A, into women, B, willing to share **anything** , let alone partners, and C, interested in setting down to have children any time soon?!"

"Gar, things are _different_ now! She wasn't just going to stay the same while you ran off to go to school! People change, they fall in love, and love does crazy things to you! Like making you think that your old long-term crush was in a cultish relationship with her _sister_ , Gar! Just calm down and **think** about this! The last time we talked to her was before that Vytle tournament a few years back, when we were first in Beacon! She would **not** shut up about those teammates of hers! She talked about them, messaged them, laughed at things they sent her, had this lovestruck look on her face whenever she mentioned them, and had to leave early because she was worried that something was wrong with them! She spent all her time with them, and at first I thought it was because she was just bored of us. Now I realize... now I realize that she was ready to move on to the next stage of her life, and we weren't. She was always more determined to become a Huntress than we were. She was always more driven than _either_ of us! You can't expect her to just sit back and wait for you to man up and tell her how you feel! You can't just always expect to have the perfect relationship with her because _you_ wanted to. She's her own person, and she always has been!"

Jemina took a step forward, reaching her hand up to prod Garriet in the chest as she spoke.

"You were always trying to get her attention, always trying to manipulate her into spending more time with you, never letting her talk to other guys... Garriet, you're obsessive, and now you're blaming your unhappiness on her _wives_! I **always** told you to move on, to stop being so _damn creepy_ about her! You changed your entire _career_ path when you found out she wanted to be a Huntress, and then you _followed her to Beacon_! But enough is **enough** , Gar! She's finally happy, finally settled down after all the shit she's gone through, and you can't **stand** that it's not with you!" Jemina snapped, turning on her heel and starting to walk back to the classroom that Yang was teaching in.

Garriet watched her go, and as she set her hand on the doorknob, Jemina glanced over her shoulder and glared at him.

"If you can finally move on, then I'll drop it. But if you can't... don't be here when I get back."

-

Yang turned to face Jemina, giving her a wide grin and hurrying over.

"Hey! Glad that you're still here and Coco didn't scare you off."

"Hey!" Coco called, glaring at Yang playfully.

"Even your wife to be says that you're annoying sometimes, and Velvet might be the nicest person I've ever met!" Yang replied, turning to face Jemina again. "Sorry about that, but Coco thinks so much of herself you have to put her in her place at least twenty times a day. And her soon to be wife's not gonna do it, so I have to pick up the slack," Yang continued.

Jemina laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, wow," she said sarcastically, "that sounds like _such_ a chore. It's not like Yang Xiao Long was always known for making fun of her friends all the time."

"That's Yang Belladonna-Schnee, to you," the blond said, giving her a wry grin and a snicker.

"Oh, please. You're always be Yang the Idiot."

" _Mrs._ Yang the Idiot," the blond replied.

Yang hesitated and glanced around.

"Where's Garriet?" she asked.

Jemina pushed open the door and looked around.

"He went home," she said finally, shaking her head slowly.

She turned back to face Yang, forcing a grin.

"How about you introduce me to those friends of yours? That Nora girl sounded fun!"

Yang seemed excited at the idea and hurried to do as prompted, making Jemina sigh in relief. He was gone... but she didn't know how to feel about that anymore.

At least Yang seemed happy.

One of them should be.


	60. Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based off a comment from DRGUINEAPIG87, took it and ran away with the idea!

_Alea smirked down at her teammate, casting Lexey a secretive wink to remind the other girl of their plans. Lexey flushed and offered her a kind smile that made Alea's smirk widen._

_She reached down and slid her hand into Lexey's own gently. Lexey's heart thudded loudly in her chest, starting to wonder if her palm was sweating noticeably in the other girl's. Maybe her team leader would notice and she'd realize how much of an effect she had on the other girl._

_Alea just smirked wider, glancing behind her at Stacey and Terresa, who were both watching Lexey and Alea's connected hands with odd expressions on their faces. Alea wondered why both of them looked upset, and she reached out her hand for Terresa, offering her a smile that came out as a smirk._

_"You alright, Honey?" she asked as Terresa hesitated, subconsciously looking over at Stacey to see her partner's reaction. Both of them were shocked by the offer, and Alea felt her self consciousness starting to bleed through. Her hand started to pull back, but Terresa grabbed it, sending a look at Lexey with a smirk._

_Stacey crossed her arms, and Alea gave her her best smile (which Stacey thought was the most sultry and seductive smirk she'd ever seen and made her mouth go dry as she stared at her)._

_"Ter, don't let her feel left out! I only have two hands, no matter how much I like my teammates," Alea said._

_Terresa frowned in confusion, and Lexey's eyes widened in shock._

_Was Alea using the fact that **both** Stacey and Terresa had feelings for her to manipulate them into getting along? Or at least pretending to, that is? Or was she just... somehow not aware of the effect she had on her teammates?!_

_"Who cares if we have to take up the whole sidewalk?" Alea asked, giving her teammates an innocent smile and a wink._

_It was decidedly **not** interpreted in an innocent fashion, and three members of team ATLS flushed at the look._

_Stacey let out a low growl, but found herself unable to say not to both the innocent look from Lexey and the seductive smirk from Alea._

_She slid her hand into Terresa's, and her partner almost burst out laughing._

_Stacey squeezed her hand tightly, and the other girl flinched as nails dug into her skin._

_Terresa did the same, and Stacey rolled her eyes, whispering something about pettiness just quietly enough that Alea couldn't be able to hear them._

_"You're the one that started it," Terresa hissed._

_As the four walked down the street, the partners slowly calmed down and stopped trying to scratch each other subtly enough that their team leader and mutual crush wouldn't notice._

_Lexey let out a sound of excitement when they reached their destination, tugging Alea, and by extension the rest of her team, inside._

_"Oh, I **know** you're going to love this place! It's got **everything** that Huntresses and Huntsmen would need! It'll be great!" Lexey cheered._

_Alea watched her with a fond look on her face while Stacey and Terresa thought her expression was more "Oh, I can't wait to get that girl in bed."_

_Alea looked around the store for a long moment before she grinned in excitement, shocking most of her teammates at the seemingly innocent expression on her face._

_"Oh, you're right! This place seems awesome!" Alea gave Lexey a wide grin before she darted off, her hands falling out of Lexey and Terresa's as she raced through the halls of the store and soon became lost to their vision._

_The three were shocked for a moment, watching her run off, and Lexey glanced at their other teammates, who were still holding hands. She cheered internally, but it soon turned to cursing (though not full curses, because she didn't actually like those words, so she had the less intense curse words, like heckity shmeckity!)._

_Terresa and Stacey seemed to suddenly realize their hands were still connected, and they pulled away quickly, both of their faces bleeding a light shade of red as they looked away from one another in embarrassment at the situation._

_Lexey smirked just slightly at them before she turned a corner, striding through the walkways purposefully. There was a reason she'd asked her teammates to come here, and it was **not** so that she could hold hands with Alea (though that had been, admittedly, the best addition to this little trip that she could **ever** imagine happening). She had her eye out on a gift for Alea that she was **certain** her team leader would **love**!_

_Alea was a weird person, though Lexey loved that about her. She was, functionally, the walking version of a paradox that had been given sentience. She went from flirtatious to friendly in a heartbeat, went from high tow low in a moment... one moment she'd be holding your hand and giving you that smirk that made all of her teammates' hearts stop, and then the next she'd be giggling like a little school girl at the sweetest online video she'd found that had a puppy twitching in its sleep. She acted like the best lady killer and seductress in the school, but then a moment later she'd act all surprised when a guy she'd been hitting on for the last few weeks would ask her out. Once, she'd asked Lexey why Mark had asked her out after she'd touched his knee the day before in class, giving him a wink._

_Alea was complicated, but she was a puzzle that all of her teammates were willing to put the work into piecing together._

_All of that was a long winded way of saying that Lexey had **finally** discovered the perfect gift to give her, and it was-_

_Lexey reached her hand out to grab a box of chocolates, but her hand met two others._

_She looked over and felt her face flush as she saw her hand sandwiched between Terresa and Stacey's._

_They stared at one another for a long moment, eyes wide._

_Lexey tried to pull her hand back with the chocolates, but two others tried to do the same, causing the three of them to be pulled closer to one another and the box to tug from the strain that they were putting on it._

_The three started to tug over it, all knowing why the other three were attempting to get the chocolate. They wrestled over it for a long moment before they heard footsteps coming down the hallway toward them, and all three came to a silent agreement, bringing the box of chocolates to hide behind their backs as Alea turned the corner, smiling happily (though her teammates saw it as a seductive smirk, as always) at the three of them as she hurried over._

_"Hey! I was-whoa! Are those...," she trailed off and stared with wide eyes at a large arrangement of chocolate boxes. "No way!" she said, reaching off to grab a box behind the one the three had been fighting over. "These are my **favorite**! What are the odds?!"_

_Alea turned to them as she grabbed a few more boxes._

_"You three wanna share some kisses?" she asked, smirking as she held up some Hershey's kisses._

_As she turned on her heel and sauntered toward the register, the three watched her with wide eyes and light blushes on their faces._

_They hesitated for a moment before they put the box on the counter with expressions of loss on their faces. If they hadn't fought, they would have been able to surprise her together, but instead they'd ruined it._

_-_

_Alea pulled out a box of chocolate with a wide smirk, holding out a piece and pushing it toward Stacey._

_"These are **the best**! I know they're just milk chocolate in a special shape, but I **swear** that they're better than that. Here, have a kiss," she said, pushing the chocolate toward Stacey's mouth. The stuck up girl flushed and had no option to to open her mouth as the other girl popped the chocolate in, grinning at her._

_"Isn't it amazing?!"_

_Stacey flushed further and nodded in a shy manner._

_"Y-yeah. They're great," she said._

_Alea passed the chocolate around to her teammates, who were all watching her, but she didn't seem to notice._

_Alea wrapped her arms around Stacey and Terresa, pulling them both closer to her side as she grinned in excitement, the two being pushed closer to one another and having a mini panic attack as they both stared at one another._

_Terresa found that she didn't like Stacey, and the opposite was definitely true. They were opposites in every sense of the word. One was formal, the other **more** than willing to throw away the rules on a whim. One was reserved while the other was loud and adventurous. But, despite their differences, there was always something there underneath it all, and the two found themselves utterly distracted by each other, neither seeming to remember that their team leader had them both so close to her. Lexey looked up at Alea, who gave her a wink and a smirk, making her blush._

_She was still struggling to figure out how her team leader's mind worked, considering there seemed to be **no** pattern to her madness, despite what the old English writers had always said about crazy people._

_-_

_As time went on, Alea was able to continue getting Stacey and Terresa closer and closer until suddenly the two stopped talking, stopped hanging out, stopped even **arguing**. It was a weird situation that made Alea come hurrying to Lexey's side with a confused puppy dog look on her face, sitting down beside her teammate on the bed._

_"What's wrong with them?" she whispered as Stacey and Terresa both sat in silence as they did their homework, their headphones in so that they didn't have to hear one another. Despite that, they kept looking at one another and acting odd when they caught the other's gaze._

_Lexey frowned and glanced at Alea._

_"What do you mean 'what's wrong with them?' They've been awkwardly flirting with one another for weeks now, and the tension's at an all time high," Lexey replied._

_Alea's eyes widened in shock at the words._

_"They have been?!" she hissed._

_Lexey gaped at her._

_"I thought that you of all people would be able to recognize flirting, considering you're practically the master of it. You should...," Lexey flushed and hooked some of her hair behind her ear awkwardly at the words. "You should show me how to do that one day."_

_Alea flinched and started to awkwardly fiddle with her thumbs._

_"I'm really not a master of flirting," she mumbled._

_Lexey stared at her in clear disbelief._

_"That's... that's just my personality, Lex, I swear. Everyone says that I'm a huge flirt, but... I don't think I've ever really flirted a day in my life. At least, not on purpose."_

_Lexey suddenly flushed at the words, staring at her with wide eyes._

_"You... you haven't?!" she hissed._

_Alea shook her head with an embarrassed expression._

_"I don't... really know that much about flirting and stuff, so...," Alea glanced up at Stacey and Terresa, feeling a pang in her heart as she watched them continue to share awkward eye contact and looks. "That's... that's good for them," she muttered, though for some reason she didn't really feel it. "I'm really happy for them, and I hope that they'll be able to work it out soon, because the tension is really awkward."_

_Lexey found herself watching the pair, her emotions mirroring Alea's, even if she didn't know it._

_"Yeah... me too."_

_Lexey forced her attention back to their team leader and flushed deeply._

_So... Alea had **no** idea what kind of sway she held over her teammates?! How the f-_


	61. Insane

Yang laughed as she threw her arm around Sun's shoulder, bumping him with her hip.

"When are you finally gonna get those two locked down, Sunny?! Let's face it, they're _way_ outta your league, man, and you better get some fancy rings!" Yang cried.

Sun rolled his eyes.

"Like how you did? Yes, your proposal was **so** romantic, Yang. Didn't even have engagement rings!"

"There were _four_ of us though, Sun! Rings are expensive, especially when your sister won't wait more than a week for a proposal and you don't have time to save up enough money!"

Jemina gasped.

"Yang Belladonna-Schnee! You didn't have _engagement_ rings?! How did you trick those two into marrying you then?!"

"Charm," Yang said, shooting her a wink.

There was a loud scoff from Weiss.

"Oh, **please**! You're one of the worst flirts I know! Dust, I have **students** that are better at flirting than you!"

"First of all, I'm _amazing_ flirt, thank you very much, and second of all, Alea does **not** count, because I'm about fifty percent sure that her semblance is actually just charm."

"That's not her semblance," Blake added, rolling her eyes. "You're a teacher, you should know that it's not her semblance."

"But, to be fair, it's pretty close," Velvet added, smiling as she leaned against Coco, reaching one hand up to grab at her hat.

Coco swatted at her, but the faunus was able to steal the hat, dropping it onto her head and smirking at her wife to be.

"What is with you and my hat?" Coco asked sufferingly.

"You look cute without it," Velvet said, giving her a fond smile. "And besides, I look awesome in it."

"Wait, wait, wait," Jemina found herself saying, waving her hands to get attention from the group. "You're saying that Yang isn't a good flirt?!"

Almost all of their friends around them burst out laughing while Yang crossed her arms, huffing just slightly in frustration.

"But she was such a charmer when I knew her!" Jemina cried.

"Then you didn't have any standards," Weiss replied, raising an eyebrow and sending a small smirk Yang's way.

"Yeah, cause Blakey's the best at charming people!" Ruby said, grabbing Blake's arm and sidling up next to her.

"Well, maybe not _people_ in general," Weiss said, "but at least people that are romantically interested in her."

"I'm a lady killer," Blake said, her voice monotone and face expressionless.

"Are they kidding?" Jemina whispered to Yang, who sighed and shook her head.

"No, she's... she's pretty good... I mean, she is pretty popular with the ladies."

"Hey!" Sun cried.

"And the feminine fellows," Yang amended.

"HEY!" Sun called again.

"To be fair, a supposed lesbian did fall for you," Blake said, smirking.

Ilia set her head on the monkey faunus' shoulder and smiled up at him.

"You know what, Yang? That explains _so much_!"

Sun shook his head sufferingly, looking to Jaune and Ren.

"This is what we get for hanging out with almost only women, isn't it?" he asked as Ilia started to play with his floppy hair.

"Definitely," Jaune replied while Nora stuck her tongue out at him, crossing her arms with an eye roll toward her boyfriend.

Yang snickered and reached out to grab Weiss' hand.

"Yang once said 'I'm an STD and all I need is U,' only to then stare in abject horror when she realized what she'd said," Weiss said.

There was loud laughter from the group and Jemina snorted.

"And then," Ruby said, "one time, Weiss asked Blake why she seemed so bored by the sunrise, and she said-"

Weiss cut her wife off, a slightly star struck look on her face as she recalled the incident.

"That she'd already seen the three most beautiful women in the universe, and everything else was boring by comparison," the former heiress finished.

Blake smiled slightly, sending Yang a wink as both Ruby and Weiss grabbed onto her arms, leaning against her sides.

"That is... actually pretty smooth. Dust, Yang, why didn't you say something like that?" Jemina asked.

"It's not that simple!" Yang cried, throwing her arms up in the air and letting out a frustrated groan.

"It's alright, Yang. Not everyone can be a good flirt, and the rest of you more than makes up for it," Blake said.

Yang gave the faunus a fond look before her eyes widened and she gasped dramatically.

"Witchcraft! Stop trying to seduce me with our spells, temptress!"

"Aren't you already married to her?" Jemina asked Yang, who gasped again.

"She's too powerful to control."

Blake gave her a wink that contradicted her expressionless face.

"She's too _sweet_ ," Ruby corrected, placing a gentle kiss on the cat faunus' neck and making Blake laugh, angling away from her as Ruby started to try and tickle her.

"Dust, Yang," Jemina muttered as she watched Blake, Weiss, and Ruby, "you guys really are insane."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do love my running jokes. Anyone wanna share their favorite one?


	62. What Happened

_Lexey paced back and forth, causing Stacey and Terresa to look up at her, watching her with concern._

_"Lex? What's your problem?" Terresa asked._

_Stacey shot her a look of frustration and anger, standing and heading toward Lexey, setting her hands on the pacing girl's shoulders._

_"What's wrong, Lexey?" she asked kindly, reaching one hand up to start untangling her hair. When Lexey was nervous, she would subconsciously reach her hand out and mess with her hair. It was long, and she'd considered cutting it a few times since she'd gotten to Beacon, but a flippant comment from Alea had stopped her from doing so. ("Your hair looks really nice when you aren't messing with it. It's a really nice shade of red... reminds me of the sunset," Alea had said, giving her a fond smile before reaching over to pat her knee as she stood up, sauntering off. At the time, Lexey had overthought that interaction for the longest while, wondering if Alea had finally been seeing her in a different light, but... apparently it hadn't meant anything to the team leader.)_

_Lexey shook her head and let out a sigh as she leaned into Stacey's arms, setting her head on her shoulder as her teammate started to run a hand through her hair to fix it._

_"I think Alea's driving me insane," Lexey finally said._

_Stacey barely heard her over the pounding of her own heart, Lexey's close proximity making her feel awkward and nervous. It made her frown in confusion. She'd never thought about Lexey in any way other than strictly platonic, perhaps like a younger sister or something of the like, but as Lexey looped her arms around her waist loosely and set her head so closer to her neck that she could feel her breath against her skin, Stacey found herself feeling **far** different than she expected this close to the other girl._

_"W-what about her?" Stacey asked, when she remembered what was going on._

_"Alea's a flirt and Lexey fell for her. It's not that hard to understand, Stacey," Terresa called from the other side of the room, glancing up at them and raising an eyebrow at the pair._

_"That's not it," Lexey muttered, letting out a long sigh as she shook her head._

_"Really?" Terresa asked with a raised eyebrow, clearly not believing her teammate in the slightest._

_Stacey was having trouble following the conversation with Lexey pulling closer to her. Stacey was still having a moment of lesbian panic at the other girl's proximity. She hadn't known how much of a disaster she was until she'd joined this team and, apparently, fallen head over heels for any girl on her team that had a pulse. It was an annoying fact for her, but one that she could live with, should she ignore it (which was, obviously her plan in life)._

_"Then what is it?" Stacey asked, trying to ignore that her hands were shaking just slightly as she brushed them through Lexey's hair._

_"Alea's not a flirt," she muttered._

_Terresa snorted loudly, hand slapping against the bed._

_"Good one, Lex. She's even more of a flirt than I am, and that's saying something."_

_Lexey started to laugh in a slightly hysteric way, the way a person laughed when they were on the verge of a mental breakdown and found their own ineptitude hilarious to the audience they'd created in their own mind._

_"She's not a flirt," she said between her giggles. "She doesn't know how to flirt. Apparently she just... **does** that! She's just... she's just a nice person that doesn't know that what she's doing is on the verge of harassment in most businesses. She looked so lost when I was talking about flirting... like a confused little puppy." Lexy pulled closer to Stacey and shook her head ruefully. "It was so cute... so cutely **annoying**."_

_There was a beat of silencce in which Stacey suddenly gasped, having just caught up with the conversation she'd only been half paying attention to._

_"Wait, what?!" Stacey cried. "You've **gotta** be kidding, right?"_

_Terresa was laughing, but she slowly quieted, eyes landing on Lexey, her brow furrowing as she watched her teammate._

_"Wait... wait, really?!"_

_Lexey nodded with a small sigh._

_"Ask her something, **anything** , about flirting and she gets so adorably confused. Seriously, it's just so...," Lexey trailed off and shook her head with a small smile that soon turned into a groan._

_"You're screwing with me," Terresa said, scoffing._

_Lexey shook her head while Stacey groaned._

_"Ugh, Terresa, why do you have to be so vulgar?" she asked, feeling oddly that she should be covering Lexey's ears, that her sweetness should be protected from their teammate's disgusting nature._

_Lexey finally relaxed completely in Stacey's arms, letting out a sigh that seemed to imply that she'd finally given up._

_"She has absolutely no idea what's going on between...," she hesitated and glanced up at Stacey, suddenly seeing her with new eyes. Stacey's heart rate picked up, skipping several beats as her kind eyes seemed to stare into her soul. Stacey found herself worrying that Lexey wouldn't like what she found. But, instead, her teammate smiled down at her fondly. "Despite everything that's been going on, you've still been here for me." Lexey leaned closer and let her forehead fall against Stacey's own. "You're pretty amazing, you know?"  
_

_Stacey's pulse picked up greatly, and she was glad that Lexey was no longer close to her neck and therefore likely wouldn't be able to tell how fast her heart was racing._

_"T-thanks," Stacey said._

_Terresa watched the pair with a raised eyebrow, finally putting down her scroll as Lexey gave Stacey a wide smile.  
_

_"I just said the truth, Stac. You're awesome."_

_Terresa felt her stomach coil uncomfortably, and she rushed to draw their attention._

_"Can we get back to the matter at hand, please? Is Alea really not a flirt or are you messing with me?" Terresa asked, causing her two teammates to glance at her._

_Lexey jumped in shock and nodded, the fact suddenly seeming a bit less important._

_"Yeah, she isn't. She's just really charming, I guess. That's why she was so shocked whenever our classmates asked her out, why she told Stacey that her shirt was unbuttoned, why she switches from calling us beautiful and wonderful to saying we're great friends... she's just a regular girl who happens to seem like a fantasy flirter."_

_Lexey paused to consider, and she found that the revelation about Alea was almost... more appealing than the fantasy had been. Alea now not only seemed amazing and awesome, but also like she was... just as nervous as Lexey herself could be._

_Lexey shook her head and turned her attention back to Stacey, giving her a small, fond smile._

_"Thanks again, Stac. I really needed that."_

_As Lexey pulled back, Stacey forced a smile of her own as she watched her._

_"Uh, y-yeah. Of course. Any time you need anything, I'm right here."_

_"I'll hold you to that," Lexey said with a smile and a wave as she flopped back onto her bed._

_Terresa watched the pair, raising an eyebrow as Stacey forced herself to walk back to her bed as well._

_"Dust," Stacey thought, "I'm a mess. What happened to the cold, emotionally inaccessible and distant bitch I used to be?!"_

_But she knew what had happened._

_Those dust damn teammates of hers._


	63. The Warning

Yang glanced at her scroll and sighed as she saw the time.

"I really gotta get going before Weiss starts getting even more hormonal, Jemina. It was really good to catch up, though!" Yang said.

Her childhood friend gave her a wide smile and leaned forward to give the blond a tight hug, whispering in her ear as they held one another for a prolonged period of time.

"There's... something I need to tell you about Garriet," she whispered.

Yang's eyes widened and she frowned in confusion, glancing down at her friend and raising an eyebrow.

"What?" Yang whispered.

"I'll... I'll text you later, alright? You got my number, right?"

Yang nodded, frowning futher.

"What's going on, Jemina?" she asked.

Jemina looked up at Yang as the two pulled apart, letting out a sigh.

"Just... the older we got, the weirder I felt around him. There's something... wrong with him, and I just want you to be careful."

"What?" Yang asked, shaking her head in confusion.

"He's... obsessive, Yang. When you stopped hanging out with us all the time, he started to get... worse. He's... he thinks that he's in love with you, and...," Jemina trailed off and shook her head, giving Yang a small smile. "I don't want anything to happen to you and your family, so please just... just be careful, alright?"

Yang nodded slowly, giving her friend a forced smile as well.

"Uh... thanks. I'll... I'll try to watch out."

Jemina gave her one last look before she walked out of the room, leaving Yang to watch her with confusion written on her face.

"What's up?" Blake asked, setting a hand on her wife's shoulder gently.

Yang jumped, glancing over at the faunus and offering a small smile.

"Nothing... just... I'm not sure yet."

Blake frowned and pulled closer with a worried expression. Yang gave her a small smile and shook her head.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine," Yang said, reaching one hand over to set it on Blake's own.

The faunus nodded, leaning forward and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Ready to get out of here?" Yang asked, reaching her hand to grab her scroll.

"Yeah. I'll get Weiss and Ruby," Blake said, giving her a long look. "Want me to drive?"

Yang nodded distractedly.

"Yeah... yeah, that would be great," the blond said, typing a number into her scroll before sending off a message.

 **Yang:** _What were you talking about???_

 **Jemina:** _Just... be careful. Lock your doors._

**Yang:** _Are you saying that he's dangerous???_

**Jemina:** _I can't be sure but... he's been acting weirder and weirder lately. Just before the fall of beacon I was going to talk to you about it, because he started losing sleep, walking around at night, talking to himself..._

 **Yang:** _Should I call the cops?_

Yang didn't get a response.

 **Yang:** _Jem?_

Yang hesitated and waited for a minute, considering sending a third message, but her thoughts were cut short as Blake set a hand on her shoulder.

Yang flinched, glancing behind her at her teammates.

"You alright?" Ruby asked, frowning.

Weiss had reached her hand down to her belt, where she used to keep her rapier before she got pregnant, and looked around the room as if expecting to find some attacker that was coming for them.

"Yeah, Rubes, let's just get going.

-

Ruby glanced up at the passenger seat as her sister's knee bounced up and down, glancing at her scroll.

 **Yang:** _What's going on???_

Her friend didn't message her back, and she'd been waiting for almost half an hour for the other girl to respond, but she was starting to wonder if she was going to.

Blake reached her hand over to set it on top of Yang's knee, glancing at her while trying to focus on the road.

Yang let out a sigh, head falling back against the seat while she ran a hand through her hair.

"What's going on, Yang?" Blake whispered her question.

"I honestly don't know."

Blake ran her hand up and down the other girl's leg until Yang set her hand on top of Blake's own. The faunus looked over at her for a moment and offered a small smile.

-

Blake pulled into the drive way and shut off the car, glancing around the vehicle for a moment.

"We really do need a van," she finally said.

Yang groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Do we really have to?" she asked.

"Definitely," Weiss replied. "It's the only car that'll fit all of us. And don't forget that our idiot friends are going to be asking for rides all the time."

"That's... a fair point," Yang said, sliding her scroll into her pocket and letting out a sigh of relief as they stepped into their house. She locked the door behind them, checking the back door while trying to seem as if she wasn't worried.

Blake seemed to notice, and the faunus watched her go around, trying to look out of the windows casually before she closed a few.

Blake set her hand on her weapon hesitantly, reaching to her belt and moving the weapon onto the table beside her underneath her palm, pulling out her book and listening carefully as Yang stalked through the house.

"What's wrong with Yang?" Weiss asked, sitting down on the couch beside Blake.

"I'm not sure," the faunus said. "I think she's just a little nervous about Grimm. How about you two go get ready for bed and I'll check on her?"

Ruby and Weiss glanced at one another, clearly not convinced, but nodded. It was early to call it a night, but they'd been more tired than usual, what with both of them having at the very least three children they were carrying.

Ruby gave Blake one last look before she followed Weiss out of the room.

Blake watched as Yang hurried back into the room.

"Where are Ruby and Weiss."

"In the bedroom," Blake replied, not looking up from her book.

Her ear twitched, and she moved her weapon closer to her lap as her ear twitched.

Slowly, she set her book down in her lap and stood up, walking toward the bedroom slowly. She heard another footstep from outside.

"Yang, what are you doing by the back door?" she called as she closed the bedroom door.

"What?" Yang called from the bedroom.

"Nothing, love!" Blake said softer, sure that Yang could hear her.

Just then, the back door creaked open.

Blake slid her weapon in front of her, eyes narrowing.


	64. Testing

_Alea stepped into the dorm room and frowned slightly as she looked at her teammates._

_They were all sitting on their beds, and there was an uncharacteristic silence that held over the room._

_"You ladies feeling alright? Or were you just missing me?" she offered, hoping she could break the awkwardness in the air._

_Lexey gave her a sweet smile that Alea met with a smirk and a wink._

_Terresa glanced at Lexey before her gaze darted back to Alea._

_"I still don't believe you, Lex."_

_"Don't believe... what?" Alea asked slowly, setting her bag down on the ground as she sat down on her bed. She glanced at Lexey, her heart hammering in her chest._

_Stacey elbowed her partner, giving her a small glare._

_Terresa rubbed at her ribs, grumbling under her breath._

_"Then test it," Stacey whispered before she pulled away from her partner and stalked over to her bed._

_"You're better at that, so you do it!" Terresa hissed._

_Stacey hesitated before she changed course, sitting down beside Alea and letting their knees touch._

_"Can't believe you're making me do this, Ter," she muttered._

_"Oh, please! You've been throwing yourself at her like this for weeks," Terresa replied._

_Alea frowned slightly in confusion, glancing at Stacey.  
_

_"Throwing yourself?" she asked worriedly._

_Stacey took a deep breath, looking down at her lap, before she turned back to look at Alea, a smirk on her face as she leaned closer to their team leader._

_Alea met her smirk with one of her own, though she hesitated as Stacey turned to face her, setting one hand on the bed at Alea's side, brushing it against Alea's own hand._

_"Hey," Alea said, giving her a wider smirk._

_Terresa hesitated and she stared at her teammates, eyes wide._

_"You know, ever since I met you, there's been something I've wanted to tell you," Stacey breathed, pushing even closer so that her chest was now pressed up against Alea's own._

_Alea found herself pushed back against the wall behind her bed as she subconsciously inched back due to Stacey's close proximity._

_Alea laughed awkwardly, staring at her. She reached up and put her hand on the bed frame. Her eyes widened as she glanced down, finding that Stacey had also reached one hand up to set on Alea's chest._

_"Uh... hehe, what, uh...," Alea glanced to Lexey with a look of confusion and slight worry on her face. "What could, uh... what could that be?"_

_Stacey gave her another smirk, and Alea found her heart starting to race for no apparent reason as Stacey leaned ever closer._

_"Uh... Stacey?" Alea asked hesitantly._

_"Stacey, stop it," Lexey called. "I'm telling the truth!"_

_Stacey took one last moment, looking at Alea with a glint in her eyes._

_"Stacey, I don't know if you've realized it, but we're, uh... we're really close together, and I...," Alea coughed as she felt her face starting to flush, "I don't know what's really going on, and you stopped talking, and I'm rambling now and I really want for you to just tell me what's going on because I'm really confused."_

_Stacey leaned back and stared at her for a long moment before she picked herself off the bed, rolling her eyes._

_"Dear dust!" she cried._

_"What? What's happening?" Alea asked, the heat in her face cooling down as she fixed her jacket that Stacey had messed up during... whatever had just happened._

_"I can't believe you were telling the truth, Lex," Terresa said, shaking her head in disbelief._

_Alea's gaze shot to Lexey, and her expression turned concerned._

_"Did you...," she flushed and reached her hands down to fidget with her fingers. "Did you tell them?"_

_Lexey hesitated before she nodded mutely._

_Alea pushed a hand through her hair, not noticing that her teammates all watched the action._

_"I... I'm sorry if I misled you three in some way, convincing you that I was some sort of flirting genius... that's what my old friends used to say, at least. I'm sorry if I made you think I was like... really well put together or something, but... that's just my personality, I guess. I'm not really... good at flirting, I don't know what flirting is, and I have **no** idea what just happened with Stacey, so I hope that one of you will explain it to me," Alea said in a rush, her face turning a light shade of red._

_"Oh my dust," Terresa breathed, running her hand through her hair and falling against the bed she was sitting on._

_"All this time, and she was just... being friendly," Stacey said._

_"Did I... make either of you uncomfortable or something? I know that's happened before, but I really do treasure our friendship and I'd hate for anything to happen to that just because I can be a bit... off-putting."_

_"Unbelievable," Stacey muttered._

_Alea fidgeted awkwardly._

_"I'm sorry-"_

_"Don't apologize, Alea," Terresa said, shaking her head with a look that the team leader couldn't decode. "We were just... surprised."_

_"Did I make you both uncomfortable?" Alea asked._

_"Definitely not," Terresa said, smirking at Stacey, who happened to be flushing very deeply as she muttered curses under her breath._

_"Really?" Alea asked hopefully, giving them a hopeful smile (which came out as a flirtatious smirk)._

_"Dust, that is so weird to get used to," Terresa muttered. "So that's just, like... a regular smile?"_

_Alea hesitated, smile falling._

_"Is it... bad?"_

_"No! No, definitely not!" Lexey cried._

_Alea glanced at Lexey, and the other girl flushed deeply, looking away from her team leader._

_"It's not a bad smile, Al. It can just be... interpreted differently."_

_"It can?"_

_"Definitely," Stacey muttered, mind filled with images of Alea smirking at her that had seemed so... dust! For a lack of better words, Stacey had just found it so hot! Dust! It was just a **smile**! Not a look that promised something later when the two of them were alone, not a smirk that had always sent Stacey's imagination running..._

_And yet, that look that Alea gave her still sent her heart racing, even when she knew that it wasn't what she'd originally thought it meant. It even seemed more attractive now that she knew Alea wasn't completely sure of herself. It made the team leader seem all the more human, like she was more..._

_Stacey groaned and fell back against her pillow, making Terresa laugh loudly at her partner._

_"What's so funny?" Alea whispered to Lexey, looking at her with those adorably confused eyes._

_Lexey stared at her for a long moment._

_"Nothing, Al," she said with a small sigh. "Nothing at all."_


	65. Oblivious Level: Infinite

_Alea breathed a sigh of relief, smiling to herself as she sauntered down the hall. As she passed some of her various friends, she sent winks to them. Some seemed surprises, others turned a perplexing shade of red, and still others just waved or winked back at her with chuckles._

_Alea felt like she was walking on air, all but skipping (though it still looked like a saunter to anyone that watched her)._

_Her teammates had realized that she was, actually, pretty much a walking idiot that had no idea what she doing at pretty much any moment in her life. That she had **no** idea when other people were flirting, when guys in class tried to ask her out, or why people were always so awkward around her. And, to top it all off, they'd all taken the revelation as if it hadn't mean anything._

_Well, they'd acted a little bit surprised, and even frustrated, but she had no idea why._

_The days since she'd revealed it to the rest of her team had been the best of her days at school. Maybe the best since... well, the best that she could remember! Her teammates had been acting different toward her, but she enjoyed it!  
_

_All three of them had gotten this new habit of turning red or pink when she said certain things, and she had taken to saying them more because of how cute her teammates looked when they turned pink and red._

_A lot of people turned into different shades when they watched or talked to Alea, but nobody ever looked as adorable as her teammates did when this happened._

_/_

_Stacey seemed to avoid close proximity to all of her teammates as of late, and Alea had been determined to fix this fact. She'd been making sure that Stacey got closer and closer to her teammates, leaning against her side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders or her waist, other things of the like._

_One time in particular, Stacey had bragged about getting perfect marks on her test in Winter and Weiss' class (which hardly ever happened), and Alea had let out an excited sound, racing forward to grab the other girl around the waist and picking her up into the air, twirling the pair in a tight circle._

_"That's **amazing** , Stac! You're awesome, beautiful, **and** a wonderful person!" Alea had said happily, giving her a smirk._

_Stacey had stared at her in shock, flushing a deep shade of red._

_After that, Alea had made a mental note that Stacey enjoyed compliments, and decided to do it more often._

_/_

_Terresa enjoyed the more subtle approach, such as Alea giving her passing comments and kind smiles, as well as giving her little gifts, such as flowers or candies._

_Terresa liked to pretend that she was above all of those things, but she turned into a stuttering mess whenever Alea gave her those gifts, especially when Alea would surprise her, sometimes slipping a flower behind her ear when she wasn't paying attention or leaving the gift on her pillow for her to find when they returned to their dorms._

_/_

_Lexey was the easiest one to make excited with little gestures, and Alea liked to give her little physical reminders of how much she cared about her teammate. She would give her little claps on the shoulder, take her hand when they were walking through the hall, give her little pecks on the cheek whenever Lexey seemed nervous or anxious._

_Lexey's reactions were always cute and enough to make Alea smirk as she watched her teammate flush and look at where the two touched._

_Alea loved the way all three of them reacted to the little actions she did, and they seemed to be in good moods lately... even if they sometimes acted awkward afterwards. Alea was still having trouble figuring out why that was._

_/_

_Alea swung open the door to their next class and joined her teammates as she took a seat between Lexey and Stacey, reaching one hand out to grab Lexey's._

_Her teammate glanced at her and offered a shy smile, reaching her hand up to tuck a bit of hair behind her ear and turning the barest shade of pink._

_"Hey, beautifuls," she offered, giving all three of her teammates her best grin._

_Stacey looked away from her quickly, but she reached out to wrap an arm around her shoulders, pulling the other girl closer until Stacey put her head on Alea's own shoulder._

_Alea smiled at her, and Stacey glanced at Terresa, the two sharing a look that Alea didn't decode in time._

_Meanwhile, Stacey was screaming internally as her teammates came closer and closer to her._

_She was **definitely** having trouble with this, and she could tell from Terresa's look that she felt the same._

_/_

_"Does she have any idea what she's doing?" Stacey asked._

_"That she's acting like she's dating all three of us?" Terresa scoffed with a dry laugh that was **clearly** sarcastic. "Definitely not."_

_Stacey flushed and leaned back against her bed._

_"Dust, just kill me now before I have to look into those beautiful, **stupid** blue eyes again," Stacey muttered._

_"She really is oblivious," Lexey admitted, running a hand through her hair and hooking it behind her ear as she let out a groan._

_"I just want to kiss her lips until she stops saying such **dumb shit** ," Terresa muttered, throwing her arm over her eyes as she let out a sigh._

_"What did we talk about?!" Stacey snapped, trying to keep her voice quiet._

_"Not to curse in front of Lexey," Terresa repeated in a monotone voice._

_"Uh, what?" Lexey asked, raising an eyebrow._

_"I'm not allowed to curse in front of you," Terresa said, rolling her eyes._

_"Why not?" Lexey questioned._

_"Because it will 'corrupt you,'" Terresa said, using finger quotes. "Like you weren't dreaming about making out with our team leader every minute of every day."_

_Lexey flushed._

_"I'm not like some pure angel that can't deal with cursing..."_

_"Then say a curse word," Terresa demanded._

_Lexey hesitated._

_"F...," she trailed off, and Terresa gestured for her to continue while Stacey watched with wide eyes, shaking her head._

_"Do not."_

_"F... fu...," she trailed off. "Heck."_

_"You're on thin fucking ice there, Lex."_

_Stacey's hand slapping against Terresa's arm could be heard echoing down the hallway._


	66. Favors

Blake spun on her heel and caught sight of a familiar figure that slid into the house.

There was a beat of silence as Garriet looked up at Blake with a look of pure fear, eyes wide in shock.

"Hey, Blake-"

Blake cut him off, sprinting forward and shoving him back against the wall, reaching one hand up to cover his mouth completely. She made purposeful eye contact with him as her other hand brought her weapon up to stab him in the gut.

"Listen up," Blake growled as her weapon pierced the outside of his shirt and dug into his skin, starting to slowly drain his Aura. As Garriet squirmed, Blake pushed her weapon even closer. "You're going to be completely silent while I make a call."

Garriet squirmed in the faunus' grasp, but Blake kneed him in the unmentionables, causing him to groan pathetically.

"I said _completely silent_ ," Blake hissed, shoving him to the ground and using the ribbon from her weapon to start tying up his hands. She pushed his face against the ground with her foot so the invader couldn't speak. When she'd finished tying his legs behind his back, she proceeded to tie his legs, bringing them behind his back and arching them so she could almost tie them to his hands.

Blake, sure that he was completely contained, fumbled with her pockets until she found spare bit of cloth. Inside, she'd wrapped a few of Ruby's health cookies so that she could give them to her later. She dumped the cookies into her pocket and crumpled the cloth up, shoving it into Gariret's mouth. He made a groan against his gag, but Blake ignored it, reaching her hand down to pad against his pockets until she found his scroll.

"Hey, honey?" Blake called.

"Yeah, Kit-Kat?" Yang replied.

"How about you get Ruby and Weiss to bed? My parents want to talk about something, and it might take a while."

"You sure you don't want someone to bail you out?" Yang asked from the bedroom.

Blake smiled fondly.

"No, I'm good! Just make sure they get some rest, they really need it! I'll be there in a little bit."

"Okay. Love you!" Yang called. Blake listened to her as she walked through the bedroom, away from the door, letting out a breath of relief.

"Love you too, Yang!"

Blake then turned back to the man she had tied up in their kitchen, pulling out her own scroll and picking a contact.

She glanced at the bedroom door, ears twitching as she heard her wives starting to converse in the other room.

"Hey, I... I need a favor," Blake whispered into her phone.

"What is it?"

"I know it's getting kind of late, but can you just come over? It's easier to explain."

A beat of silence.

"Yeah... yeah, sure, of course."

Blake smiled and glanced down at the ground.

"Can you bring some friends with you?"

"Like who?"

Blake considered.

"Your team. But not your partner. She doesn't need to know anything about this."

"Might be hard, considering her girlfriend's a part of the team."

Blake ran a hand through her hair, glancing nervously at the bedroom door.

"Just make it work. I really need you."

"Okay, okay, I'll get team JNIPRS to distract her. What's wrong?"

"I just need to repay an old favor. Meet me out back," Blake said, hanging up before sliding her scroll back into her pocket.

She glanced down at Garriet, watching him with disdain as he squirmed on the ground.

Blake considered for a moment before she kicked him to the side, ignoring the groan he made, and pulled the back door open as silently as she could.

She then reached down and grabbed him around the ankle, dragging him outside and letting the door fall shut as slowly as possible once she was on their porch.

She pulled out Garriet's scroll, and Blake shoved it under his face to get the facial recognition to work.

Once it had, Blake went through a bunch of pictures, finding dozens upon dozens of Yang taken surprisingly recently, but certainly not on the day of the school reunion.

He'd been following Yang.

Blake flipped through the contacts until she found the one she wanted, pulling the scroll up to her ear.

It rang a few times.

"Garriet? I thought I told you not to call here again!" a voice snapped.

"It's Blake, actually," the faunus said, glancing down at the man beneath her feet.

"Blake? Why do you have his... oh dust, did he show up at your house?!"

"Yeah, he did."

"I'm so sorry, I should have-"

"How close were he and Yang?" Blake asked, cutting her off.

"What?"

"How close were they?" Blake pushed, kicking the man in the chest as he attempted to squirm out of his binds.

"Uh... pretty close. Yeah, they were pretty close. Yang and he were pretty inseparable for years."

Blake paused, glancing over her shoulder toward the bedroom, knowing that her wives were all probably curled up in bed together, Ruby and Yang probably on either side of Weiss as she took the middle between the two sisters.

"You want to know if you should tell her," Jemina said.

Blake found herself nodding, even though the other girl couldn't see her.

It didn't seem to matter.

"Listen, Blake, I can't tell you how to live your life, but... isn't marriage about trust? About bearing your soul to one another and leaving yourself bare for the other person?"

Blake considered.

"Thanks, Jemina," she whispered.

Blake ended the call and tossed the scroll to the ground, crushing it under her boot mercilessly.

 **Blake:** _Love you._

 **Yang:** _I love you too. What's wrong?_

Blake slid her own scroll back into her pocket when she heard footsteps, glancing up and finding three figures that walked toward her through the dark. The only reason she could see them was her night vision, and she came into view for them a moment later.

"What happened?" Winter asked, staring down at the man on the ground.

"Intruder," Blake said gruffly, running a hand through her hair.

"What'd you call us for?" Ciel asked.

It wasn't supposed to be rude, Blake knew enough about the other girl by now to know that it was the equivalent of someone else asking "how can we help?"

"Winter, you're still connected with the Atlas military, right? With Ironwood?" Blake asked.

Winter hesitated before nodding.

"I want you to call him, tell him that this man is a stalker and should be treated as hostile. And Neo... I need you to take him on the airship right now."

_'Right now?'_

Ciel grabbed her wife's hand in her own and nodded.

"We'll make sure he gets there tonight. Winter, you should go back before Penny gets suspicious."

Blake paused and glanced over her shoulder.

"One last thing."

The three members of team PWNC looked up at her as they started to lift the man into the air.

"Never tell anyone about what happened here tonight. Please," Blake said.

They all nodded.

"I owe you one," Blake said as she took a backwards step toward her house.

Neo shook her head while Ciel and Winter spoke.

"You can never owe family, Blake," Winter said, giving her the barest of smiles.

"Don't worry about it," Ciel said at the same time, the trio withdrawing into the night as they carried the man.

Blake turned to face the back door, her hand reaching forward and shaking just slightly as she grabbed the door knob.

She took a shaking breath to calm herself before she pushed it open, stepping inside.

Blake slid into the bedroom, shutting the door silently behind her as she slipped into the bed, wrapping both her arms around Yang's waist and pulling the blond close.

Her head settled against the crook of Yang's neck, and she breathed slower as Yang reached her metallic hand down to set it on Blake's.


	67. Ignorance Is Bliss

Blake's thoughts were running wild as she pulled ever closer to Yang.

"What's wrong, Kit-Kat?" the blond whispered, turning her head ever so slightly so that she could look into Blake's eyes.

"I...," Blake trailed off, glancing at Ruby and Weiss.

"They're asleep."

Blake let out a shaky breath.

"Do you believe that ignorance is bliss?"

"Are you calling me stupid, Kit-Kat?"

Blake sighed in frustration, and Yang lost her jovial tone when she next spoke.

"No. No, I don't. If I hadn't known about Salem, then I never could have helped stop her. I would have been happy, but the cost... the cost would have been too great," Yang paused and her metallic hand gripped Blake's own tighter. "Ignorance isn't bliss, it's just darkness."

Blake sat up, and Yang glanced over at her.

"There's something I need to tell you."

The blond sat up as well, eyes darting to the other two girls in the bed.

"How about we step outside?" Yang whispered, and Blake nodded, the pair slipping out of the bedroom. "What is it?"

Blake slipped her hand into Yang's own.

"I wasn't really talking to my parents."

"Who was it?"

Blake sighed and went to slide her free hand through her hair, but Yang caught her wrist, pulling the faunus closer and wrapping her arms around Blake gently.

Blake took one final breath before she started to recite the events.

When she was done, she was on the verge of tears.

"I just wanted to be able to repay you for what you've done for me. What you did with... **him**. And I... I wanted to make sure that you didn't have to go through what I did, and I thought that you might not want to know. Because... because sometimes I wish I didn't have to know what had happened with him, and..."

Yang pulled Blake even closer, setting her chin on top of the faunus' head gently.

"It's okay. You don't have to apologize, I understand."

Yang's hand ran up and down Blake's back, the faunus relaxing further into her arms.

"Thank you for what you did. Thank you for... for taking care of it for me so that I didn't have to see him like that. And I know that it brought up a lot of things for you. Thank you so much for being willing to do that for me, Blake."

Blake cried gently against Yang's chest, pulling ever closer.

"I'm sorry I almost didn't tell you."

Yang ran one hand through her hair, stroking at her cat ears.

"Thank you for telling me. I love you."

"I love you too," Blake breathed.

Yang reached both of her hands down and grabbed Blake around the waist, lifting her gently into the air.

"How about we get to bed?"

Blake nodded against her neck, looping both arms around the blond as Yang silently opened the door, carrying her wife back into the bedroom and laying down quietly.

The pair quietly and gently laid back down, and Weiss rolled over just slightly, setting her head on Yang's shoulder while Blake curled up closer to the blond, holding her tightly.

Yang thought about her old friendships for a long minute before she pulled Blake closer.

The past didn't matter any more, because she had the future to look forward to... and she'd have her wives and sister by her side.


	68. Realization

_Alea's teammates were starting to act weirder and weirder, like something between them was changing, like something about each of them was changing. It was a good change, though, and Alea had noticed that her plans of getting her teammates closer to one another had been a **great** success, especially between Stacey and Terresa!_

_Alea thought the pair may have made a breakthrough, because recently they shared weird looks every once and a while, like they had their own secret language that even Lexey barely understood._

_Alea thought it was cute far the two had come in the past few weeks, and she was wondering if she should find some way to congratulate them. Perhaps some sort of chocolate like last time... no, that would be like a repeat... what about flowers? Roses always brought out Terresa's eyes, but Stacey preferred lilacs. It was odd, like the pair could only agree on two things that they both liked: their teammates._

_At first, it had seemed like only Alea, but lately the pair had been growing closer to Lexey as well. In fact, the three seemed to have their own little conversations through their scrolls and hushed whispers occasionally._

_Alea had found herself wondering what they could be talking about a few times before, but she'd never tried to interfere, not wanting to push any boundaries. Besides, if it had something to do with their team leader, they would surely let Alea know what was going on. So she was happy just to know that her teammates were finally getting along better than ever before._

_/_

_Terresa and Stacey glanced at one another again with a mixture of exasperation and suffering as Alea leaned forward on her desk in class, looking rather bored as she listened to Winter's lecture. She put her chin in her hand as she looked up rather tiredly, eyes dropping slightly. Despite that she had on a small smile that she directed at her teammates occasionally._

_When Lexey had seen it, she'd blushed and started to distract herself by fidgeting her fingers, staring down at her lap awkwardly and coughing quietly._

_Terresa and Stacey could understand not meaning to flirt, could understand that the other girl was unintentionally sending message that she hadn't meant to or known she was...._

_But what they couldn't understand was how oblivious Alea was being! How she had been able to live in the same room as three girls that were head over heels for her and not notice... for months! How she didn't realize that Lexey blushed (adorably, in Terresa and Stacey's opinions, though they both locked that thought away deep down inside where it could never surface), how she didn't realize that Stacey's coy nature around her had always been a signal for Alea to go ahead and kiss her, how Terresa's "accidental"_ _suggestive comments weren't so accidental._

_And yet Alea seemed to live in a bubble of happiness and bliss, where her friends were happy and weren't pining after her like their lives depended on it._

_Finally, Terresa decided to make a stand. After class, that is, because Winter was terrifying in every sense of the word._

_/_

_"Hey, Al?" Terresa called up to their team leader, who glanced back at her, smiling._

_"Yeah?"_

_Terresa forced herself not to be distracted by the smirk._

_"We were all gonna go study in the library, you mind if-"_

_Alea just smirked broader, her grin almost lazy in nature as she took a step backwards through the hall. She didn't seem to notice, but the people passing by parted for her, getting out of her way to make sure that she didn't stumble, didn't bump into them._

_"Dust, if Alea ever realized the kind of sway she had in this school, what would she do?" Terresa asked. The answer was simple though, really. She wouldn't do anything differently, expect perhaps be far more awkward. Alea seemed good at that._

_"No prob, Ter! I was going to go get lunch with Amanda anyways! Catch you guys later!" Alea called, spinning on her heel with a wink toward her teammates before she sauntered down the hall._

_"Did she just say she was having lunch with Amanda?" Lexey asked, watching Alea go with wide eyes._

_Sure, Amanda had been better as of late, after a rather random verbal attack from Ivy, in which the girl revealed a fair amount of personal details of Amanda's life. But that still didn't make Alea's teammates feel comfortable about their team leader going to lunch with the girl. Especially since she was well known as the second best flirt at Beacon, right behind Alea herself._

_"Yeah, she did, now come on," Terresa said, reaching her hand out to grab Lexey's and pulling her toward the library._

_Terresa ignored the sudden increase to her heartbeat as she pulled the other girl, the feel of her palm in her own was surprisingly calming to Terresa._

_"Why did you lie to Alea?" Stacey muttered, crossing her arms against her chest. She thought that, if Terresa hadn't said anything, the three of them together would be able to convince Alea into not going to meet up with Amanda and saving their team leader from being relentlessly hit on... though, admittedly, the real reason Stacey would be doing that would not have been so altruistic. But a girl could lie to herself occasionally? Dust knows she'd been doing it enough when it came to Terresa and Lexey, but she lied to herself and said she hadn't. She was starting to think that was her real semblance._

_The word semblance made Stacey frown in concentration._

_It was odd that she didn't know her team leader's semblance, right? She was aware of Terresa and Lexey's, but so far Alea hadn't revealed her own to any of them. Should that be a red flag?_

_In hind sight, yes, yes it should have been. But hind sight was always twenty-twenty, and now Stacey was far too gone to let something as trivial as not knowing her team leader's semblance sway her feelings for the other girl... sadly. She only knew this because, when she'd first realized how she'd felt, she'd tried so many different ways to convince herself that she wasn't into Alea._

_She was a player, a heartbreaker, a flirt, an annoyance, not the best student, hadn't told them much about her past... but all of it had fell away, and she was left with a massive crush that had only gotten worse upon the revelation that Alea hadn't actually **been** any of those things, and was just a confused, adorable girl that hadn't realized how many people had feelings for her._

_"Honestly," Stacey thought spitefully, "can't she just have **one** annoying habit that I can hate her for, other than her obliviousness?!"_

_But there were dozens of traits that she shouldn't like about the other girl, but truly did. It was a weird realization for Stacey the first time she'd thought that, considering she usually disliked pretty much everything about pretty much everyone... but her teammates were slowly starting to make her reconsider her policies on strictly hating all humans. Maybe there could be two... or even three exceptions._

_"I lied to her, because I need to talk to you three," Terresa said, rolling her eyes at her partner as she took a left hand turn._

_"The library's that way," Lexey pointed to the right, but Terresa continued to tug the other girl through the hall._

_"We're not going to the library, we're going to the dorm room so we can all finally talk about this like adults instead of little children that are in over their heads because of some foolish **girl**."_

_Lexey colored at the words and looked down at her feet, which shifted awkwardly as she stumbled after Terresa, who continued to tug her forward._

_Terresa pushed open the door, slamming it closed after both Stacey and Lexey were inside, just an inch away from hitting Stacey on the foot on her way in._

_"W-what do you mean?" Lexey asked, clearly trying to play dumb. Stacey rolled her eyes._

_"Please, we all know what she's talking about," Stacey said, taking a seat on a chair and running a hand through her hair._

_"Let's just be adults about this and talk," Terresa said, flopping onto her bed and giving her teammates small smiles._

_Lexey let out a long sigh and leaned against the wall in frustration._

_"O-okay..."_

_"I guess since I'm the only one in this group with any guts," Terresa said, stretching on her bed, "then I'll start. As you both know good and well by now, I was one of the idiots that fell for Alea."_

_There was a palpable awkwardness in the air._

_"Yeah, yeah," Stacey said after a moment, waving her hand in the air, "we all know that, and we're all clear that I have feelings for her as well."_

_Lexey was blushing deeply, and she kicked at the ground._

_"I, uh... yeah, me too."_

_"Obviously. You're not very subtle," Terresa said. "So what's important here is... how do we let her know?"_

_/_

_Alea slid into her seat at the restaurant, giving Amanda a kind smile as she leant back in the chair casually, grabbing a menu._

_"Hey, 'Manda!" she said happily, and Amanda watched her with a small smile, leaning closer across the table._

_"Hey yourself, Alea," she replied with a small smirk._

_Alea laughed and perused the menu, not realizing that her lunch mate had looked her up and down with a considering look, clearly planning something, though not what one would expect, exactly._

_/_

_"So you wanna just... tell her at the same time?" Stacey asked, raising an eyebrow. "Doesn't that kind of sound like an ambush. She walks in and all of the sudden we're like 'we all have feelings for you!' Sounds kind of overwhelming to her."_

_"I'm just saying, if we're all going to get embarrassed, might as well do it as a group! Plus, this way, nobody will back out," Terresa said._

_"What if we don't **want** to tell her?" Stacey snapped, though it was mostly just to be argumentative._

_"We can't go on like this, Stac. Have you seen how oblivious that girl is? None of us can handle another month of this, much less the next three years of school and then however much longer we're gonna be friends with her after this. She has to know so she can stop accidentally flirting with us and we can move on, satisfied that we don't have a chance."_

_There was a moment of silence while Lexey and Stacey glanced at one another, silently communicating._

_"When do we have to get this over with?" Stacey asked._

_/_

_Alea laughed at Amanda's last joke, but Amanda seemed rather surprised Alea had done so._

_Alea wasn't sure why, though, considering Amanda had just made the funniest joke she'd heard in a little while._

_"What's so funny?" Amanda asked, tilting her head to the side just slightly._

_Alea shook her head as she took a deep breath to stop herself from continuing to laugh._

_"What you just said," Alea said, suddenly feeling a bit self conscious._

_"How is me asking what you plan to do about all three of your teammates having feelings for you funny?"_

_"Because they don't have feelings for me, 'Manda. We're just friends," Alea said._

_There was a beat of silence as the two women looked at each other, the smile slowly falling from Alea's face._

_"They don't have feelings for me... do they?" Alea found herself asking slowly, her thoughts paradoxically fast and slow, as if caught in snow, frozen yet burning as her mind whirled._

_"Um... Alea, everyone's been talking about it, wondering who you're going to pick."_

_Alea suddenly pushed herself back from the table, giving her friend an apologetic smile as she stumbled to her feet._

_"Uh... sorry, I... I gotta go... I've got some stuff to think about. I'll, uh... we'll reschedule."_

_Alea hurried out of the restaurant, glad she hadn't ordered anything and therefore wouldn't have to pay Amanda back for her food._

_Alea sighed and ran a hand through her hair (not noticing that several students that had come to the restaurant stared at her because of the action)._

_Alea finally exited the restaurant, almost bumping into a few people, and made her way down the crowded street. Around her, people seemed to move out of her way, like a sea parting, random people staring at her._

_/_

_Alea hesitated as she saw a familiar face, reaching her hand out to grab their arm._

_Brandon turned to look at her, suddenly grinning when he saw who had grabbed him._

_"Oh! Alea! H-hi!" he said, face turning a light shade of red as he looked down at her, rubbing the back of his neck. "What's, uh, what's up."_

_"I just heard the weirdest rumor, and I wanted to know if you had too."_

_Brandon seemed a bit disappointed, but Alea didn't know why._

_"What is it?"_

_"That all my teammates have feelings for me."_

_Brandon frowned down at Alea._

_"Uh, yeah, I've heard it. **Everyone's** heard it before, Alea. I thought it was just... common knowledge at this point. Everyone does. They're wondering how long you're going to leave them on the hook before you either pick one of them or tell them that you're not interested in them. Some people think you're trying to get a harem of your own, and-"_

_Alea let go of his arm and felt her heart picking up speed as she walked toward team ATLS' dorm room._

_/_

_"What is it about her?" Lexey asked suddenly, shaking her head._

_"I don't know... she's so... cute and sweet. At first, it was the flirtatious nature for me," Stacey said with a small, fond smile, "but then... everything just got more real when you told us about how she really felt all the time."_

_"Yeah," Terresa agreed. "And she's just so... **alive** , I guess. She's just so fun and energetic. Like she's just somehow... more than most people."_

_"She really is," Lexey muttered fondly._

_/_

_The dorm room door opened, causing the three girls to jump._

_Alea gave them all an awkward smile, rubbing the back of her neck with a bit of nervousness._

_"Uh, hey guys. I thought you were back in the library still..."_

_"We decided to come back early," Stacey said quickly._

_"Are you alright?" Lexey asked worriedly, pushing herself to her feet as she stepped closer to their team leader, reaching one hand up to set it on Alea's hand._

_The action actually sent Alea's heart racing, but she wasn't sure why._

_Alea gave her a small smile despite her nerves, which didn't show in her smirk._

_"Yeah, I just... I heard the weirdest thing from Amanda."_

_"Did she try to hit on you?" Stacey asked, flipping through her scroll and trying to seem disinterested._

_"What? No, of course not, she's like my closest friend... you know, outside of you three," Alea said._

_"Then what happened, Al?" Terresa asked with a small raised eyebrow._

_"She said...," Alea shook her head, feeling her face heat up all the sudden. It was a weird sensation, one that didn't happen too often. She wondered suddenly if her face looked reddened slightly. That was an odd thought. "You know what? It's, uh... it's not really important."_

_"Of course it is," Terresa said, pushing herself up some on the bed while Stacey slid her scroll back into her pocket, clearly wanting to look as intrigued as she felt. "If it made you upset, then it's important."_

_"It's just... she said that she thought...," Alea trailed off for a moment, blushing just slightly. "She said that she thought you three had feelings for me."_

_A moment of awkward, shocked silence._

_"Hehe, I know, weird, right? I told her that it was ridiculous and that...," Alea slowly trailed off, glancing at her teammates._

_Lexey was blushing deeply and she'd pulled away from Alea, fidgeting with her fingers and then awkwardly starting to mess with her hair._

_Terresa's eyes were wide and her gaze darted to Stacey and Lexey, refusing to look at Alea._

_Stacey had hurriedly pulled out her scroll, hands just slightly shaking as she tried to seem distracted._

_"Oh my dust," Alea breathed. "They were right."_

_"We were all... planning to tell you, actually. We just talked about it and...," Terresa trailed off when Alea looked up at her, seeming to stare into her soul._

_Her presence was suddenly overwhelming to her teammates as her eyes widened, one hand reaching up to grab at her chest, holding her shirt in a fist. Her heart was racing, her mind was whirling, and her teammates could almost feel her presence pushing against them._

_Stacey tried to speak, but as Alea's blue eyes fell on her, she found herself unable to, her mouth suddenly going dry as her chest constricted in a way she'd never felt before._

_"I, uh... I need to go. I'll be back soon...," Alea paused and looked at the three of them. "Be here when I get back?"_

_She meant to say it like a question, but to the three girls it seemed more like an order, and they each nodded before they even realized what was happening._

_Alea turned on her heel and stepped out of the dorm room, sauntering through the hallway. Her mind was swirling with thoughts, almost all of them centered on her teammates._

_Why did she always have this effect on people? She didn't mean to..._

_It felt like it was her old school all over again. Everyone had known but her, she was the only one not smart enough to know what was going on._

_She hated having to tell her friends that she didn't have feelings for them. It always ended up in the end of friendships and this would be even more awkward..._

_Alea didn't seem to notice that the people around her were suddenly pausing or slowing down, glancing at team ATLS' team leader or out right staring at her as she made her way down the hallway. Alea wasn't paying attention to where she walked, but people in front of her scurried out of her way without a second thought._

_Alea imagined what it would be like to have to tell her teammates the bad news_ _, and suddenly images flashed before her eyes._

_Lexey giving her a forced smile and a nod, slowly drifting away, being awkward around her... Alea would slowly lose her partner. The idea was suddenly horrifying, and she found that she'd do anything to see that smile of hers. She loved that smile, the sweet little laugh she always had..._

_Stacey would take it stoically, nodding without saying a word before she left the room. She wouldn't talk to Alea unless she had to... It would be horrible. Alea wouldn't get to hear her snarky commentary, wouldn't get to hear her sarcastic quotes that always made Alea giggle and laugh, her heart filled to the brim... She couldn't imagine what she'd do without that._

_Terresa wouldn't act very different, having established the clearest platonic connect now that Alea looked back, but it would be awkward and it would never be the same to Alea. Never be the same to Terresa. She would miss all the times they got to hang out, all the times they went to lunch and watched movies laying on their beds..._ _Alea couldn't imagine what she would do without her._

_Alea found she couldn't imagine what she'd do without **any** of them, and she suddenly realized something._

_Her eyes widened and her heart started to race as new images flushed before her eyes. Images she'd never been able to see, but now desperately wanted to._

_Images of herself and her teammates going on dates, of morning "I love you" texts... kissing them..._

_/_

_"That's it, I'm going after her," Terresa said, standing and walking to the door._

_"She said stay here," Lexey said suddenly, frowning as she wondered why she'd said it._

_"She might be the team leader, but she's not the boss of me," Terresa said, reaching up and grabbing the door knob. She hesitated as she went to turn it._

_"Thought you were leaving," Stacey said, her arm thrown over her eyes to cover them as she laid on the bed._

_"I, uh...," Terresa's mind flashed with images of Alea, and her voice sounded in her head, telling her to be there when she got back. Her skin crawled. "I need to talk to her."_

_"Then go," Stacey said, her frustration at her current situation clearly coming out as she spoke to her partner._

_"I-"_

_Before Terresa could continue, the door was thrown open, and she was forced to stumble back to avoid getting hit in the face._

_Alea stood in the doorway, seeming to stand taller than normal as she looked at her three teammates, an awkward smirk on her face._

_Stacey sat up quickly, staring up at Alea with wide eyes and a nervous light to them._

_Lexey kind of curled up on herself, wrapping her arms around herself as she pulled her knees up to her chest._

_"You're still here! Good! I was worried you might have left!" Alea said, glancing down at Terresa as she saw that the other girl was sprawled out on the floor, having fallen backward to avoid getting hit by the door._

_Alea reached her hand down and Terresa took it nervously, letting her team leader help her to her feet so that she didn't have to lay on the ground while Alea rejected them all in a group._

_At least it would be over soon so that she could move on with her life and stop pining after her team leader (hopefully sometime soon)._

_There was a beat of awkward silence before Alea seemed to realize she was still holding Terresa's hand in her own, and she let go, albeit slowly._

_"Right. Uh... there's something that I wanted to say to you three, and... it's kind of awkward... but...," Alea cleared her throat before taking a deep breath. "I've never really been good at emotions, es_ _pecially romantic ones, so it took me a little while to realize that I, uh... like you."_

_A beat of silence held, and Alea rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly._

_"Like... Terresa?" Stacey asked, glancing between her partner and team leader._

_"What? no-well, I... yes, but what I meant was all three of you. I know that's weird but-"_

_Alea was cut off as Terresa reached her hand out to grab the team leader's. She glanced over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow._

_"Know what? Don't really care. I'm in."_

_Alea's eyes widened and she started to backpedal._

_"Wait, that's not what I was trying to say, I just wanted you all to know that I did like you-"_

_Lexey beamed and rolled off her bed, walking closer to Alea with an awkward look on her face._

_"Really?" she asked._

_Alea nodded mutely, glancing at Terresa and wondering why the girl's eyes weren't locked on her own, but instead her lips. The look made her heart skip a beat, almost taking a step backward at the intense look on the girl's face._

_"Stac?" Terresa called, sounding slightly impatient._

_The final member of team ATLS was silent for a moment before she shook her head, letting out a sigh._

_"I can't believe there's going to be another poly relationship at Beacon," she muttered, but there was a shy smile on her face as she blushed._

_Alea's eyes widened as Terresa and Stacey both moved closer, each slipping a hand into her own while Lexey awkwardly scuffed her foot against the ground._

_"That's not what I... I mean I can't... because three people with one person isn't-"_

_Lexey glanced at Terresa and Stacey, who both gave her fond smiles as she excitedly glanced at Alea. They both gestured slightly and Lexey needed no further prompting. She reached up and grabbed Alea's face in her hands, leaning forward and connecting their lips gently._

_Alea made a sound of surprise as she was suddenly lost, her thoughts now all leaving her as her brain stopped working._

_She wrapped her arms around Lexey's waist, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss._

_After a long moment, the pair pulled apart, both breathing a bit heavily._

_Alea took a moment to think, regaining her train of thought suddenly._

_"I was trying to say that I can't do this with three of you, not when none of you are wi-"  
_

_"Just shut your stupid hot mouth," Terresa muttered, leaning forward and grabbing Alea by the shoulders, pulling her closer an connecting their lips. Alea's mind stopped again, and she leaned forward, her hands coming to rest on Terresa's arms, deepening the kiss and making Terresa smirk against her mouth._

_When Terresa and Alea pulled apart, Terresa gave her a smirk and a wink that made Alea's heart pound louder, making her wonder if she had this sort of affect on people when she did that._

_"When, uh... when none of you are together with each...," she paused as Stacey grabbed her wrist, turning Alea to face her final teammate as she leaned forward like she had that day on Alea's bed when they'd learned just how oblivious she was. Back then, Alea hadn't known why it made her thoughts slow. Now she did. "With each other, I mean, and it... it would be wrong for me to-"_

_Stacey rolled her eyes and leaned the final distance, connecting their lips in a way that was almost hungrier than the others, as if frustrated she had been third and was making up for the lost time._

_Alea made a sound of shock, which Stacey used as an opening to deepen the kiss. Alea put her hands on Stacey's own, which were on her face, holding her in a tight grasp as if worried that Alea might try to pull away prematurely._

_After a long moment, in which Alea thought she might die from lack of oxygen, the two pulled apart._

_"I... I, uh...," Alea hesitated as she glanced at her teammates, offering them an awkward smile that came out as a sultry smirk. "What was I saying again? I kind of... forgot..."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Terresa and Alea's semblances are both chosen and actually HAVE been shown (but, to be fair, you've seen Alea's FAR more than Terresa's), but I haven't decided on Stacey and Lexey if anyone wants to suggest!
> 
> Also, if someone wants to guess their semblances, go for it


	69. Nice

_Alea wasn't sure how this had happened._

_She wasn't charming, really. She'd never flirted a day in her life, at least on purpose, and she really didn't find herself in any way charming. But she'd already mentioned that. She wasn't a flirt, a charmer, a flirt, a charmer.... she **was** , on the other hand, repetitive._

_It was due to all of this that her current situation made no dust damn sense._

_Because, remember, Alea wasn't charming, wasn't good with women, and was awkward as any person could be._

_So how **in the world** was she here, sitting on the couch in her dorm room, Lexey and Terresa on either side of her, heads set on her shoulders, while Stacey was sprawled out below her, head set in her lap. The rest of Stacey was sprawled out on top of Lexey, but she was staring up at Alea with a wide smirk._

_Alea glanced at the three, laughing awkwardly, but she knew that to the three of them it sounded entirely different, which was a mystery in and of itself._

_Alea wasn't sure exactly how the last ten minutes had passed. Or, well, she knew **how** it had passed (with a lot of kisses and her failing to speak as her teammates and girlfriends interrupted and distracted her), but suddenly it all seemed like a haze. As if the time had passed without her realizing what was going on or what she'd been doing._

_"I, uh... there was something that I wanted to say...," Alea spoke slowly, her mind whirling as if it had just been turned back on again after having been left in sleep mode._

_"And what was it, Love?" Terresa asked, smirking at her as she moved closer to Alea._

_"Um...," Alea frowned just slightly in thought, and Lexey reached her hand up to cradle her face, grinning._

_"Isn't it so cute when she frowns?" Lexey asks._

_"Oh, definitely," Terresa said, leaning closer and setting her hand on the other side of Alea's face happily._

_Alea struggled to remember what she was thinking._

_"What was so important that you had to ruin the mood?" Stacey asked, reaching her own hand up to run down Alea's neck toward her chest slowly._

_Alea suddenly realized the problem, and she gently reached down to grab Stacey, softly pushing her further into Lexey's lap before she stood._

_Terresa and Lexey both made sounds of shock, trying to stop Alea from standing, but the team leader didn't let their attempts sway her, despite how tempting the call from her teammates was._

_"What?" Stacey snapped irritably, glaring at Alea as she started to pace back and forth._

_"There's... no, this is... this is no," she said, waving her hand in front of her in frustration. "I can't... I can't just do this. There's three of you, one of me, and it's really not fair..."_

_Alea felt a hand on her arm, and she glanced over, finding Terresa smiling at her gently._

_"Al, never in my life did I expect to have to say this to you, but... you need to stop overthinking this."_

_Alea was about to grin, but suddenly her brows furrowed._

_"Wait... why would you ever think you wouldn't have to say that to me?"_

_Terresa just smiled at her._

_"That's... not what's important, Love. Just go with it."_

_Alea hesitated, glancing at her other teammates/girlfriends with a small questioning gaze. She was surprised to find that neither of them were still on the couch, but instead standing at her side._

_"Terresa's right, you know," Stacey said._

_"And if we're every agreeing on something, then you **know** it's serious," Terresa said, Stacey nodding sagely._

_Alea didn't seem convinced, but she nodded anyways, sending a small smile to her teammates._

_"Um, okay. I guess... I guess that makes sense..."_

_Stacey grabbed her by the collar of her jacket, pulling her down for a kiss._

_Alea was distracted and unable to continue her worrying for the next few years._

_/_

_Alea felt Stacey grab onto her arm, pulling closer and setting her head on her shoulder as they passed through the halls._

_Alea laughed awkwardly as they walked, several people staring at her team as they passed, Lexey's hand set in her own, threading their fingers together gently and rubbing her thumb against the back of her palm._

_Alea tried to give her friends and classmates an awkward smile as they passed through the halls._

_"Al, you look smug," Terresa whispered from behind her._

_Alea frowned in confusion, glancing back at her._

_"What? Really? I wasn't trying to," Alea whispered._

_Stacey rolled her eyes and gently prodded her girlfriend with her elbow._

_"You **should** be smug, Al."_

_Alea gave another awkward laugh._

_/_

_"Hey, wait," Stacey said, sitting up slightly from where she'd been laying against Alea._

_"Hmm?" the team leader questioned._

_"You know, it's rather rude to keep secrets from teammates. But it's even **worse** to keep secrets from one's girlfriends," Stacey said._

_Alea stared at her blankly._

_"Uh... what?"_

_Stacey rolled her eyes, gesturing at Terresa to finish the statement for her._

_"She wants to know what your dust damn semblance is."_

_Alea laughed awkwardly, reaching her hand up to rub the back of her neck._

_"You, uh, want to know what my semblance is?" Alea asked awkwardly._

_"Uh, yeah, that's what we said," Stacey said, rolling her eyes._

_"Well, I, uh...," Alea offered the three an awkward laugh and smirk, which made Lexey smile at her. "I don't exactly... have a semblance."_

_Terresa raised a dubious eyebrow._

_"Is that so?"_

_"Yes, it is! I know it's weird but... can you stop questioning me about this?" Alea asked, taking a defensive step backward._

_Stacey rolled her eyes and stepped forward, invading Alea's personal space._

_She opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated, glancing at Terresa. Her gaze turned back to Alea, and she subconsciously took a step back, staring up at her team leader, who suddenly seemed to loom over her in an almost threatening manner. Her words echoed in Stacey's mind on replay. "Stop questioning me about this. Stop questioning me about this. Stop questioning me ab-"_

_Stacey shook her head in an attempt to clear it. When she looked back at Alea again, her team leader's body language suddenly changed as she looked down at her teammates._

_"Is... are you guys alright?" Alea asked worriedly._

_Terresa seemed to let out a breath, glancing at Stacey with a confused look._

_"It's just that, Alea, it seems like... you are currently using a semblance," Terresa said slowly, chancing a look at their team leader._

_Alea frowned in confusion, tilting her head to the side just slightly as she looked at her girlfriend._

_"Uh, no, I think I'd know if I had a semblance," Alea let out a laugh and shook her head. "I **do** have a large Aura, though."_

_"You do," Stacey said with a small frown, stepping forward and putting one hand on her arm, staring at her intently. "I don't know why I didn't... notice that before."_

_Alea shrugged awkwardly, giving Stacey a small smirk._

_Stacey looked away from her face quickly, glancing at Terresa and Lexey._

_Lexey seemed confused by the other two, shrugging at their silent communication._

_"Al, you... you do know that **everyone** has a semblance, right?" Stacey asked slowly._

_"Well... I don't. Why don't you just... just **drop it**?!" Alea said, wincing and bringing one hand up to her arm nervously. This whole conversation was bringing up some bad memories for her._

_Lexey stared up at their team leader and made a startled sound as her notebook fumbled from her hands, dropping down and striking the ground. Stacey's gaze didn't leave Alea, watching as she suddenly seemed to grow taller, more imposing as she stood in front of the three. Stacey let go of Alea's hand, and it thudded against her side._

_"I... I think I might have an idea what your semblance is," Stacey said slowly, glancing at Terresa. Her gaze was almost instantly brought back to her team leader. "Can you... can you please stop that, Al?"_

_"Stop what?" the team leader asked, expression growing concerned as she leaned down toward Stacey._

_As she invaded her space, Stacey almost thought she could see her team leader's Aura coating the air around them._

_"Hey, Al?" Stacey said slowly._

_"Yes?"_

_"Is your Aura... blue?"_

_"Uh, yeah, why?"_

_"Just... we really need to talk with Ms. Nikos and Scarletina."_

_"Why?" Alea asked._

_"Can't you just trust me?" Stacey replied, letting out a breath as the Aura around Alea started to wane slightly. Like she was relaxing._

_"Of course I trust you, Stac."_

_"Then come on!" Terresa said, grabbing Alea and Lexey by the hand and dragging them out of the room with an excited cry._

_"You don't even know what we're doing!" Stacey called as she hurried after her teammates._

_"So what? I know where we're going!"_

_Stacey rolled her eyes as she followed the other girls down the hallway._

_/_

_"So you... don't know what your semblance is?" Pyrrha asked, glancing at Velvet._

_Alea shook her head awkwardly, running a hand through her hair._

_From the look on their teacher's face, Alea's teammates could tell that Pyrrha was wondering why Alea was flirting with her._

_They decided to ignore that._

_"Well, it's perfectly normal for different people to take longer to develop and realize their semblances. And you're more likely to realize what your semblance is the more you practice."_

_"Oh no, I think we've figured out what her semblance is, it's just... well, we haven't figured it out all the way," Stacey said._

_"Really?" Pyrrha asked, clearly intrigued at the words._

_Alea gave her teammates a confused look._

_"We have?" Alea asked, raising an eyebrow._

_"She does... she does this **thing** where she like grows taller and more intimidating and stuff," Terresa said, waving her hands as she tried to explain herself._

_Everyone else in the room stared at her for a long moment._

_"I do **what**?" Alea asked._

_Her girlfriends/teammates ignored her confusion and continued to converse with Pyrrha as if she wasn't there._

_Alea felt rather insulted, but she didn't say anything about it._

_"It's weird," Lexey said. "And you can see her Aura and stuff."_

_Stacey nodded sagely, glancing at their team leader with a slightly concerned look on her face._

_"It seems as if her semblance might be a passive one," Pyrrha said. "The best way to study it would be to deplete her Aura and then check for any changes."_

_Alea suddenly sat up straighter, eyes going wide._

_"Wait, what?" she asked, gaze darting between her teammates. "I... deplete my Aura fully?"_

_Alea stood and shook her head, giving them all a small smirk as she let out a laugh, running a hand through her hair, parting the brown locks and letting them fall over her shoulders._

_"You can't be serious."_

_Pyrrha raised an eyebrow, watching her._

_"I'm afraid not."_

_Alea let out a shaky breath._

_"I've never actually... had my Aura depleted that far. Not since it was unlocked, at least."_

_Pyrrha frowned._

_"How?" the teacher asked, stepping closer to Alea with a contemplative look on her face._

_"I just... have a lot of Aura, I guess. At least, that's what everyone tells me."_

_Pyrrha's eyes suddenly widened with understanding._

_"I think I finally understand what's going on here, but I'll still have to see what happens once your Aura has been drained."_

_Alea looked to her girlfriends for help, but Stacey had already whipped her sword-baton-things out of their sheaths as she stood, looking at Alea with a cool sense of calm._

_"It'll be alright, Hon. It's really not that bad."_

_Alea looked to Lexey as Terresa stood, already balling up her fists up._

_"Don't worry, Love, we can make a sparring session of it!"_

_Lexey gave Alea an apologetic smile as she vaulted to her feet with ease._

_"It really is the only way. But don't worry! We won't hurt you!"_

_"Dust," Alea cursed._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, the title of chapter sixty-nine is "nice" because I officially no longer have shame nor standards.


	70. Breakfast

Blake rolled out of bed, letting out a yawn. She knew that Weiss was throwing up in the bathroom, sure that the former heiress was having her morning sickness. It happened more and more frequently lately, considering she and Ruby were now in week seventeen of carrying their children. It was a weird sensation, knowing that, soon, the four of them would be parents to **seven** children. But Blake was excited, undoubtedly so, and had been taking every opportunity she could find to talk to her pregnant wives stomachs. It made both of them exasperated, but Ruby still seemed to think it was cute... although, Weiss had started to start slapping at Blake's hands whenever she came too close, attempting to have Yang defend her.

The blond was strongly against getting in between the two wives, and she hoped that they'd find some sort of compromise at some point.

Blake refused to back off on her attempts to speak to her children, even if they were still in Weiss and Ruby's stomachs.

The cat faunus stepped into the kitchen, ducking under a flying frying pan and looking up at Yang, who gave her an apologetic smile.

The blond laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Sorry?"

"Why were you throwing our cutlery?" Blake questioned dryly, reaching her hand out to grab the frying pan, which she then put in sink before Yang got any ideas about reusing it after she'd dropped it on the ground. Or, rather, thrown it.

"Accident. Or, well... on purpose, but not at you."

"Was there another spider?" Blake asked dryly, raising an eyebrow.

"No! I wouldn't throw a frying pan over a spider!"

Blake refrained from mentioning the time Yang had shrieked at the top of her lungs upon seeing the arachnid.

"It's because Weiss wants eggs, but not regular eggs, she wants scrambled eggs! Why did her craving have to be so hard to make?! And I'm not even going to mention the fact that she wants **relish** on top of it! Dust, Blake! Why did we marry a woman that was rich?! It just gives her unusally high expectations for food preparation that I just **can not** provide, Blake! I'm just not that good at cooking! I can hardly do anything when it comes to this sort of stuff!" Yang cried dramatically, waving her hands in the air, frustration radiating from her actions as well as desperation.

Blake stepped forward and put her hands on Yang's shoulders.

"Just take a deep breath, Yang."

The blond leaned into her grasp gently, letting out a long sigh.

"Are you going to help me?" Yang asked.

Blake snorted.

"Dust, Yang! You know that I can't cook! I'm just here for... moral support."

"You're helping me."

"You know I'm not doing that."

"You're my wife, help me out," Yang said.

"I don't want Weiss mad at me, Yang! I don't have a death wish! So you make your wife some nice scrambled eggs with relish while I make Ruby some protein cookies."

"That's **so** not fair, Kit-Kat! Her breakfast is so much easier!" Yang whined at the faunus, trying to give her the puppy eyes that her sister was so good at. She didn't do it nearly as well.

"Then maybe you should have married Ruby. Oh wait, you can't! She's your sister! You're the one that decided to marry a snob and a no-good faunus. Punishment fits the crime," Blake replied, raising an eyebrow.

Yang gasped in offense while Blake smirked at her, grabbing a few cookies and dropping them into the bowl.

Yang groaned and ran a hand through her hair in frustration.

Blake idly reached out to grab another frying pan, which she tossed at Yang. The blond made a sound of shock before she caught it.

Blake opened the fridge, pulling out the carton of eggs and tossing two at Yang.

Yang cursed as she struggled to delicately catch them.

"Kit-Kat, why are you doing this?!" Yang asked, setting the two eggs down on the counter before throwing herself forward to catch the other eggs her wife was now throwing at her.

Blake grinned and let out a quiet laugh, giving Yang a minute to set the next three eggs down delicately on the counter.

"You're about to be a mother! You have to be able to catch random falling children!" Blake cried dramatically, launching a few more eggs in her direction.

"Dust, woman! How many children do you expect to be randomly falling?!"

" **Seven** , Yang!" Blake cried, tossing another egg. Yang threw herself on the ground to catch the egg a minute before it struck the ground.

"Stop saying it like that!" Yang said. "And why would seven of our children be randomly falling over and requiring me to catch them at any given point?!"

"They're related to you and Ruby, Yang! Of course they're going to be clumsy handfuls!" Blake called in a dramatic fashion, tossing two more eggs.

Yang scrambled up, setting one egg on the counter before she launched herself through the air, catching two more, one in each hand as she delicately balanced herself, having almost fallen over in the process to try and catch them.

Blake launched another egg, this one at top speed and hurtling across the kitchen.

"Dust, Yang! Catch our baby before it dies!" Blake said, gasping dramatically.

Yang tucked one egg under her arm, popping the second in her mouth, and threw herself forward at top speed, reaching out with both hands and snatching the final egg out of the air, slamming against the kitchen floor harshly.

"Yang."

"Mmmh?" the blond asked, turning to look at Blake, unable to speak with her mouth full.

"Did you just put an egg baby in your mouth?"

"mmo?" Yang said, trying and failing to say the word "no" with her mouth filled with egg.

Blake stared at her, unamused.

"That won't work with real babies."

Yang spat the egg out, catching it in her metallic hand gently.

"I know that."

Blake smirked before pulling her hand out from behind her back, launching the final egg at Yang.

She panicked, trying to juggle the three eggs she had in her hands while still getting the last egg of the dozen.

She failed, and the egg smacked Yang directly in the face.

Blake burst out laughing, doubling over as Yang spat in disgust, putting the three eggs down before starting to run her hands down her face in an attempt to rid it of egg.

"Blake," she said lowly, grabbing a towel and running it down her face slowly.

"Hmm?" the faunus asked, trying and failing to stop her smirk, leaning against the counter and watching her wife.

"I trusted you," Yang continued. "And you betrayed me."

"Consider it payback for what you did with our wedding cake."

"That is **so** not fair," Yang replied, reaching out to grab one of the eggs and obviously trying to get revenge.

Blake didn't flinch, instead just smirking at the blond.

"Maybe you should save that egg. After all... didn't Weiss say she wanted scrambled eggs with relish? I'd hate for you to upset our hormonal wife with something as trivial as breakfast."

"I could spare an egg," Yang said, though her voice echoed with uncertainty as she raised the egg up to aim it at Blake.

"Could you?" the faunus asked. "I don't know if you should take that risk, Honey."

Yang hesitated.

"Why are you like this?"

Blake took a sip of her tea.

"I think I heard the bathroom door opened. Might wanna hurry."

Blake opened the fridge and tossed the relish at Yang, who glared at her for a moment before she scurried forward to start her wife's breakfast.

Blake snickered and took a seat on the counter, watching over her tea cup as Ruby walked into the room, taking a seat in front of her cookies.

"Aw, Blakey, that's so sweet! Thanks for making my cookies!" Ruby said, darting up to give her a kiss on the cheek.

Blake gave her a wink and a grin, watching as Ruby proceeded to chow down on her breakfast.

Blake heard footsteps, her ear twitching as she emptied her tea cup in the sink. She didn't want Weiss to know she'd had caffeine.

"Did you finish yet?" Weiss asked irritably.

"N-not yet, Angel! I'm working on it!" Yang cried.

Weiss huffed and Blake gave Yang a small smirk as she sat closer to Ruby, who snuggled up against her side.

Weiss watched Yang irritably while the blond glanced at her sister and Blake.

"Dust," Yang muttered to herself, shaking her head in frustration before she got back to work.


	71. The Spar

_Alea let out a laugh, deciding to give her teammates her best, most winning smile (the one she'd noticed since she'd started dating them caused all three girls to turn bright red and unfocused)._

_They each hesitated, and Alea threw in a wink for good measure, putting her hands on her waist and tilting one hip out to the side as she stared at the girls._

_"Now, we really don't want to do this, do we?" she asked, her voice coming out in what could only be described as a purr. "How about we all just forget about this and go back to our dorm room, alright?"_

_Lexey seemed tempted by the idea, hesitating and glancing at her teammates._

_Terresa waved her hand dismissively toward Lexey._

_"No, no way. Don't let her get into your head, Lex. She just doesn't want to fight," Terresa said._

_"Well... maybe we don't have to fight. If she doesn't want to, then who are we to force her to?"_

_"Lex, she's just scared. This is for her own good," Stacey said, her swatons starting to buzz with the sound of electricity that crackled at her sides. She smiled just slightly as she looked up at Alea, giving their team leader a small wink._

_"Hey, maybe we can do this some other time. Aren't there better ways we could be spending our time?" Alea asked, still giving her girlfriends her best smile as she moved backward just a few steps._

_"Seriously, Lex, don't let her get in your head," Terresa warned, her hands starting to glow a light shade of yellow as the ground beneath their feet shook._

_Lexey nodded, taking a deep breath and letting her eyes fall shut. Her hands reached down to grab her weapons from her belt. Alea knew all about her teammates. Their weapons, their semblances, their strengths, their weaknesses... but what she **really** hadn't noticed before was how **threatening** Lexey's weapons were._

_Because **dust** , just look at them! They were a pair of chakrams, which were basically, in Alea's opinion, rounded death swords that looked almost like frisbees that wanted to slit her throat. Alea tried to give her girlfriend a pointed look, but she hesitated when she saw that Lexey's eyes had opened again._

_"Dust," Alea thought to herself. "It's too late."_

_Lexey's eyes, which were normally light caramel and filled with excitement, had shifted to dark black, showing no semblance of the woman Alea knew. No emotion showed in those ashy eyes of hers, and Alea knew there wouldn't be any until she was done fighting._

_Lexey's semblance had always been equal parts fascinating and horrifying to Alea, considering how much it changed her teammate's personality._

_Typically, Lexey was kind and open, excited and almost impossibly adorable. But when she turned her semblance on... well, she was... she was Dark Lexey. At least, that's what Alea had called her. Stacey called her emotionless Lexey. Terresa had taken to calling her Darth Lexey and making horrible imitations of wheezing._

_Lexey dashed forward, her weapons drawn as she raced toward her team leader._

_Alea cursed internally, throwing up her weapon, in board sword form, and blocked the first chakram. Lexey didn't flinch, swinging the other weapon toward Alea's stomach._

_Alea brought her free arm up, grabbing onto Lexey's own to deflect the strike._

_Lexey brought her leg up to knee Alea in the stomach, causing the team leader to grunt, taking a step back. She pulled her sword back and spun in a circle, hitting Terresa and Stacey as she went._

_Alea wasn't exactly the most subtle of fighters, unlike Stacey, but she was what most people would call "a tank" fighter, capable of taking lots of damage with her strong Aura and large weaponry._

_Alea let out a small laugh when Stacey glared at her, swinging one of her swatons directly at their team leader and tried to slash at Alea._

_"This really doesn't seem fair!" Alea screamed while she threw herself to the side, avoiding Terresa and her horrifying war hammer that looked a whole lot like Nora's own._

_"That's the point, Love," Terresa replied, her eyes glowing golden as she swung at Alea yet again._

_The team leader made a quick decision, hating herself for it all the way. She absorbed the hit from Terresa's hammer, grunting, and used the momentum from the attack Terresa gave to swing herself in a tight circle, hitting both Stacey and Terresa with her sword, which was far larger than she herself was._

_Lexey was her only teammate that was able to dodge the strike, letting her chakrams out of her hands carelessly, the pair being pulled magnetically to her belt and attaching easily. She launched herself backward into a handspring, flipping with ease and confidence that Alea never saw when Lexey's semblance was off._

_Stacey held her stomach with a glare at her team leader._

_"You really wanna do this the hard way?" Stacey asked, tightening her grip on her weapons. "Then let's do this the hard way."_

_Alea gave Stacey her best smirk and distractedly raised her sword, blocking a strike from Terresa._

_"Do we **have** to?" Alea asked._

_Stacey hesitated, but Lexey certainly didn't. Lexey slammed her right weapon into Alea's side, throwing herself forward._

_Lexey must have expected for Alea to topple over, but the team leader let out a hiss as the weapon slashed at her chest. It buzzed with electricity from Lexey's dust, which shot through Alea's body. Her hand shook as her muscles writhed, but she forced herself to act. She shot her hand out and grabbed Lexey's weapon by the blade, glad her Aura was still high and didn't slice her hand open._

_Lexey seemed mildly surprised at the action, as much as she could with her semblance on, but didn't react in time to stop Alea from tugging her hand back, taking Lexey's weapon with her. She slammed the chakram against Stacey as the other woman tried to sneak up on her._

_Alea had felt the other girl sneaking up on her, like she always could. With an Aura as large as her own, Alea almost always knew whenever someone was even glancing in her direction._

_Even if she didn't have a semblance, her extra Aura was at least useful._

_Alea heard a sound of surprise from Stacey as she spun with her sword, slamming the hilt against Terresa's face before she used Lexey's weapon to slice at her stomach._

_Terresa made a grunt of surprise, stumbling backward as Alea felt sirens in her mind, and she spun, dropping Lexey's weapon as she prepared herself._

_Lexey raced toward her at top speed, eyes still blazing black as she ducked into a barrel roll, avoiding the sword strike from Alea and snatching at her weapon as it fell._

_Alea reached her foot out and stepped on her girlfriend's hand before it could snatch onto her chakram. Lexey tried to pry her hand out from under Alea's boot, but didn't seem capable of doing so._

_Alea let herself smirk before she spun to face Stacey, the girl taking a flying leap at her. Alea raised her sword, causing Stacey to slam straight against it. She groaned, shock in her gaze, and slid down, slamming against the ground._

_Alea didn't need to turn, reaching the foot she'd hand slammed against Lexey's hand up, now kicking the other girl in the face. She pushed off with force, sending herself at Terresa full force._

_Terresa took a shocked step backward as Alea rocketed toward her, trying to balance herself on her back foot._

_Terresa raised her hammer, but Alea grabbed it with her left hand, slamming the hammer against the ground and using the force to flip over it, shouldering Terresa in the chest. Terresa stumbled back a few steps, barely maintaining her balance._

_Meanwhile, Alea spun in a tight circle as she dropped to one knee, her sword swinging in an arc around herself. She swept Lexey's feet from underneath her. Stacey leapt into the air, launching herself at Alea._

_Alea ducked, throwing herself to the side and hitting Terresa square in the chest. The two tumbled to the ground, and Alea turned her gaze on Terresa, eyes seeming to glow even more blue, impossibly so._

_"Stay down," Alea growled, giving her an intense look._

_Terresa stared up at Alea, her team leader seeming to grow taller, more menacing before her eyes._

_As Alea scrambled back to her feet, Terresa found herself hesitating, watching her team leader as she raised her sword in front of her. Alea seemed to glow a dark blue as she stood, her sword raised in a masterful way. It was intimidating, the way she stood there. Impossible to fight... Terresa should just give up now..._

_Terresa shook her head in order to clear it. Why was she so scared?!_

_Alea swung her sword at Stacey, who scrambled back with a fearful look in her eyes._

_Meanwhile, Lexey's eyes flickered between brown and black, gazing at Alea. After a moment, Lexey's eyes cleared and stayed a charcoal black as she rushed forward, her weapons raised toward Alea._

_"Stac, she's in your head!" Terresa called, scrambling to her feet quickly. She tried to ignore the glowing from Alea, but her Aura seemed to call to Terresa, pulling her in like a moth to a fire, begging to be noticed... no, not begging. She was **demanding** their focus, their respect and fear._

_Lexey raced toward Alea, who acted with more certainty than she had before, as if she was fueled on by the glowing of her own Aura._

_As Lexey swung with her chakrams with confidence, attempting to damage Alea's Aura._

_The team leader switched her sword into a one-handed hold instead of two, her free hand reaching up to grab onto the first chakram by the blade, ignoring the small bit of her Aura that it attempted to drain._

_Behind her she felt a figure creeping up, but she waited, twisting the chakram with force and causing Lexey's wrist to bend the wrong way. She dropped the weapon and used her free hand to attempt to punch Alea. Alea reached her leg up, wrapping it around her arm and tugging her down toward the ground. Just as Lexey was about to hit the ground, and the figure behind was about to attack, Alea spun with momentum, bringing Lexey toward the figure and knocking their legs against one another._

_Terresa cursed while Lexey curled into a ball to avoid getting kicked in the gut. Terresa leapt over Lexey, bringing her hammer down with force._

_Alea let it slam against her side, using the push to throw her at Stacey, slamming her sword against the other girl's side._

_Stacey let out a cry of shock, flying back several feet before she slammed against a wall._

_Terresa whipped her hammer forward again, and Alea forced herself not to smirk. She'd never felt this way in battle before, as if everything was heightened. Her nerves, her reactions, her being... as if her very soul was in this fight._

_Just as Terresa's hammer slammed against her chest, Alea planted her feet against the ground to stabilize herself._

_The hammer struck her, and Alea let out a laugh at the bit of Aura it drew from her. It was as if a droplet of water had fallen from an ocean of power._

_Terresa had time to widen her eyes in shock, but she didn't have the chance to do anything but that before Alea slammed her sword against Terresa's chest._

_Terresa was sent flying back against the wall like Stacey had been._

_Alea chuckled and fell backwards into a barrel roll, avoiding a strike from Lexey's weapon._

_Alea smirked as she vaulted to her feet, flicking a button on her sword, causing it to shift into rifle form. She didn't look at her teammates as she shot at Stacey, whom she knew had jstu started to scramble to her feet._

_Stacey let out a cry of shock as she was hit by the dust powered bullets, getting thrown back against the wall once again._

_Alea hesitated as she heard the cries, glancing over her shoulder just in time to watch Stacey's Aura break._

_Alea paused, eyes going wide as she stared at her girlfriend._

_"Stacey, are you alri-"_

_Lexey used her distraction to slam into Alea's back, her chakram whipping forward so that it rested against the base of the team leader's neck. Lexey's arm had snaked underneath Alea's own, reaching up to grab her around the neck with her weapon._

_Alea let out a quiet chuckle, forcing her thoughts away from Stacey, who she knew was standing up now, limping toward the seats beside Ms. Nikos, who was staring at them._

_Alea leaned back against Lexey, smirking just slightly as she did so._

_"Go ahead. Do it."_

_Lexey hesitated._

_"And if you Aura can't survive this?" Lexey asked. But it wasn't Lexey's voice. It was filled with nothing but cold, harsh questioning. It wasn't the loving tone that she was used to hearing from her girlfriend._

_"Oh, believe me," Alea said, playing along with the cold attitude Lexey had. "It'll make it. You should worry about yourself."_

_Alea's hand snapped up and grabbed onto Lexey's forearm, ducking down and pulling harshly, causing Lexey to go flying over her shoulder and slam against the ground._

_Alea flipped her rifle around, refilling it with dust in one swift motion before she spun, shooting Terresa with her first bullet._

_Terresa ground, throwing up her war hammer to deflect the gunshot._

_"So we're going there?" she asked._

_"Already went, Hon," Alea said, slamming her boot against Lexey's chest to stop her from getting back to her feet._

_Alea let out a quiet laugh as she felt the world starting to shift below her feet, shaking back and forth._

_"Let's make this just you and me, shall we?" Alea asked, her gun directing itself toward Lexey. She pulled the trigger, and Lexey gasped in shock, her Aura breaking and her eyes immediately shifting back to brown._

_Alea glanced back at Lexey as the floor started to tumble back and forth._

_Lexey groaned as she rolled over, putting her hand on her stomach._

_"Al, honey, baby, love... why did you do that to me?" she asked, starting to laugh. Lexey stopped laughing when she felt her chest start to ache. She coughed, reaching one hand up to hold it._

_"You're the one that started it all, Lex," Alea replied, glancing over her shoulder and raising an eyebrow as she looked at Terresa approaching her._

_"Ter, you gotta take her out. No way are we letting her win against all three of us," Stacey called, limping over to where Lexey was laying on the ground. She helped Lexey to her feet, supporting the other girl by putting her shoulder under her arm._

_"I'm not the one that lost first," Terresa said, raising her arms as the ground shook more and more, a piece of the earth reaching up to grab at Alea's ankle._

_Alea jumped into the air, breaking the piece of soil off of her as she launched toward Terresa._

_Terresa laughed and raised her hand, sending a slab of rock toward Alea as she flew toward._

_Terresa let out a shocked cry when Alea snatched onto the rock, scrambling on top of it as it flew forward. Alea's sword slammed against the ground with force, causing the rock to skid to a stop, her sword digging into the concrete._

_Alea smirked as she pushed off the rock, swinging in a circle around the axis point of the sword, the rock continuing to shoot through the classroom after Alea had left it._

_"Since when was Alea this strong?" Stacey hissed as she watched the pair._

_"I... I don't know," Lexey replied, watching with wide eyes._

_"Didn't she almost have her Aura break last week when we were fighting team ANGR?" Stacey asked._

_Lexey nodded, not taking her eyes off their teammates as they battled._

_"Yeah. I had to save her."_

_"Surprised you cared with your semblance on," Stacey said, crossing her arms as she leaned back against the chair._

_"It's not like I'm... not **there** with the semblance on. I'm just... further away. Like I'm just kinda watching from behind the shadows."_

_Stacey nodded, eyes widening as Alea shifted her sword into a rifle, shooting at another large rock Terresa had sent her way._

_Alea let out a laugh of excitement, ducking under Terresa's hammer as it soared toward her._

_"Stop destroying school property, please!" Pyrrha called, grabbing a small rock as it flew through the air._

_"Right! Sorry!" Terresa cried, sending her an apologetic look._

_Despite that, Terresa sent several rocks Alea's way, making Pyrrha growl. Alea jumped onto the first rock slab, launching herself toward the next one and then the next, each of the rocks attempting to slam her against the ground or one another._

_Alea laughed and launched herself forward, finally tackling Terresa to the ground._

_Terresa grunted, raising her war hammer up to block Alea as she attempted to put her sword against her neck._

_Alea seemed to glow again, pressing against her teammate/girlfriend and lowering the sword closer and closer every second._

_Terresa reached her leg up to try and kick Alea off, but the team leader seemed to see the attack before it came, rolling to the side off of Terresa and simultaneously switching her sword into its rifle form. She shot a few bullets toward Terresa while the other girl tried to scramble to her feet._

_Terresa let out a final, strangled cry as her Aura broke, causing her to fall back against the ground. Alea rolled back to her feet, heart pounding in her chest as the adrenaline stopped coursing through her veins, her blazing Aura seeming to flicker around her until it was back to normal, the glowing blue around er gone._

_Alea felt the power from before leave her, and she started to pant, heart racing as she gasped for breath, holding her sword up as her gaze shifted to her final adversary, Pyrrha._

_"Looks like you'll have to be the one to finish off my Aura," Alea said, setting her feet at shoulder width apart, glaring up at her teacher._

_Pyrrha smiled down at Alea, shaking her head._

_"Looks like I don't have to, because I've already figured out what your semblance is," Pyrrha replied._

_"What?" Alea asked, raising an eyebrow as she lowered her sword slightly, glancing between her teammates and girlfriends hesitantly. "I don't... I don't have a semblance."_

_"You don't do something like **that** without a semblance, Hon," Terresa said as Stacey pulled her to her feet._

_"Definitely not."_


	72. Panic (Part One)

Yang rolled over in bed, giving Blake a wide grin as the faunus reached her hand over to play with the blond's hair.

"You're chipper this morning," Yang commented while Blake smirked at her.

"Oh, I wonder why that is," Blake replied with a sarcastic air to her words.

"Because you have the best wives in the world?" Yang asked.

"Well, that's the typical for me at this point," Blake said, reaching one hand up to slide her finger down Yang's arm. "But that's not exactly why I'm so happy."

Yang raised an eyebrow playfully, pulling closer to the faunus and reaching one hand up to cradle her face.

"Is it because you have seven beautiful children on the way?" the blond questioned.

"Nope," Blake replied, popping the p.

Yang hesitated, thinking about why else she could be so happy.

"As much as I've enjoyed your little joke," Blake said gently, reaching one hand up to run along Yang's cheek, "you're in some real trouble if you forgot."

Yang's mind was a whirlwind.

"Of course I didn't forget, Kit-Kat."

Blake swung her legs over the bed, pulling away from Yang with a small smile on her face.

"Good, because we've got a very romantic night planned, and I'd hate for it to end with Weiss making you spend the night on the couch."

Yang forced a laugh, but she certainly didn't feel it.

"Of course it won't end like that, Kit-Kat," Yang replied.

Blake swung the door closed behind her, but she poked her head in just a moment before it could hit the hinges.

Blake stuck her head into the room, smirking.

"But it **will** end in me proving, once again, that I'm the best romantic."

Yang rolled her eyes at the faunus until the door fell shut, at which point she let out a long breath, running a hand through her hair as she started to panic.

"Oh, dust, what did I forget? Are the babies due?! No, that's stupid, of course they're not due! Is... is it their birthday?" Yang asked to herself. "No! They're not even born! Snap out of it, Yang!" she slapped herself in the face and shook her head in frustration. "Is it maybe Blake or Weiss' birthday?! No... no it's definitely not. Ruby would have been bouncing off the walls talking about presents... and let's not forget that Blake said **romantic** ," she continued pacing back and forth, muttering to herself.

Just then, Weiss stuck her head into the bedroom, raising an eyebrow as she looked at Yang, smirking just slightly.

"You coming, Yang?" she asked.

Yang jumped and forced a grin, staring back at her as she nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, of course. Be out in a second!" Yang called. Weiss seemed almost amused, but she nodded and let the door fall shut as she exited the bedroom.

Yang pulled her scroll out of her pocket and started typing away on it quickly, shaking her head at herself.

**Yang:** _Rubes, what's going on?_

**Ruby:** _I have no idea, but Blake doesn't seem to expect anything from me, so I'm just going with it_.

 **Yang:** _What?! How's that fair?!_

 **Ruby:** _Maybe it's something between you and Blake?_

 **Yang:** _No, Weiss seems to expect something._

 **Ruby:** _Huh. Weird. Blake hasn't really said she needed anything from Weiss either._

Yang groaned and shoved her scroll back into her pocket before she hurried out of the bedroom.

As soon as she sat down, she saw that Blake had passed Ruby a plate, which had a large pancake in the shape of a heart in it.

Yang's heart stopped as soon as she saw the syrup on top, which spelled out: _Happy Anniversary._

"Dust," Yang cursed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't been posting, I'm studying a lot for my tests. Be back with the next chap soon!


	73. Panic (Part Two)

Ruby smirked as she watched her sister panic, starting to push herself out of her chair, scrambling to her feet.

"Yang, you going somewhere?" Ruby asked, taking a bite of her pancake and giving Blake a loving smile.

"N-nope!" Yang said, forcing a smile even as she glared straight at Ruby.

The faunus really had outdone herself. This breakfast must have taken weeks to perfect, considering there were dozens of pancakes for Ruby and a gourmet breakfast for Weiss, which she was already digging into.

Ruby was glad she was pregnant, and this time not just because she was giving life to three beautiful children. A month ago today, Blake had told Weiss that they didn't have to worry about their anniversary, seeing as they were pregnant.

Actually, what she'd said had been far more romantic. So much so that not only hormonal Ruby had cried, but also the typically angry Weiss!

It had been something like _"The best testament to your love for us is your willingness to not only carry our children for nine months, but to have loved us so much that you wanted to mix your Aura, your very being, with ours so that we could create life together. It's the greatest gift I've ever received, the greatest love I've ever been shown, and the best part of my life."_

Weiss had said something about wishing she could have recorded that so that she could write it down before she'd pulled Blake in for a deep kiss.

Once Ruby had done the same, and stopped crying her eyes out over what had happened, she had thought about Yang, wondering if her sister had any plans for her anniversary with Weiss and Blake.

She'd hinted at the date a few times for Yang, but soon come to realize that Yang had absolutely no idea that the day was coming up, let alone its significance.

Ruby had considered telling her about it, but held off, trusting in her sister to remember before the day came. When they came to the night to the before, Ruby decided that Yang definitely had **not** remembered. She'd thought about not telling her sister then... but decided it would be more fun to not, expecting the blond to have an amusing reaction.

"This is so sweet, Blake," Weiss was saying, leaning against the faunus, who stood at her side as the former heiress ate. "You really didn't have to do all this."

Blake gave her a charming smile.

"Oh, I know. This isn't **nearly** enough for you three. That's why I did more."

Weiss gave her a loving smile while Blake passed some waffles over to Yang, which were also shaped like hearts.

 _"Dust! How did she make these?! Did she get a special waffle maker?! We didn't even have a waffle maker! WHEN DID SHE DO THIS?!"_ Yang thought to herself. She forced a smile toward Blake, but she was panicking inside.

"Thank you, Kit-Kat," she said, starting to eat the waffle. It tasted like fear and disappointing the ones she loved.

And also fluffy clouds. Dust, but they were delicious. So, so dust damn delicious. Like seriously, how in the world was Blake able to make those?! When did the faunus **learn this**?! They lived together! And not only that, but they worked together, slept in the same bed together, practically spent every minute of their lives together... so when did Blake find the time to do this?! Yang would have seen her learning this, right?!

"What's with the look, Yang? Do you not like it?" Ruby asked, smirking like the cat that ate the canary.

Yang gave her a glare until Blake turned around, where she shifted her expression to a wide grin that she directed toward the faunus.

"What?! No way! This is great, Kit-Kat! Delicious!" Yang declared, shoveling more of the waffles into her face with a wide grin.

Blake seemed satisfied by the answer, leaning down so that she could kiss the top of Yang's head.

"I love you," Blake whispered.

Yang gulped, eyes going wide with fear. Not because Blake loved her, no, those words always sent a sort of thrill and shock (yes, even with their children on the way she felt shocked), but because... because Blake was just better at this kind of stuff than her and it seemed like Weiss and Ruby weren't participating...

So that made this anniversary basically a competition because Blake and Yang, which the blond was sure she would lose because... _come on_ , Blake was the most romantic person Yang had ever met and she always had the best plans and-

Oh dust she was still staring at Yang.

"I love you too, Kit-Kat," Yang replied calmly, leaning back against Blake and directing a grin her way.

Blake seemed satisfied by the response and turned to Weiss and Ruby, starting up a conversation with them.

Yang was glad that the faunus wasn't looking at her anymore, because it gave her the chance to pull out her scroll and send out a panicked message to her best man for life.

 **Yang:** _SOS SOS SOS SEND HELP!_

 **Lesbro:** _Don't tell me that you forgot._

 **Yang:** _I forgot!_

 **Lesbro:** _DUST DAMN IT YANG YOU GOT TWO BEAUTIFUL AND WONDERFUL WOMEN AND YOU FORGOT YOUR ANNIVERSARY?! THE ANNIVERSARY OF ONE OF THE BEST DAYS OF YOUR LIFE?!_

 **Yang:** _I KNOW I KNOW STOP YELLING AT ME SUN I DIDN'T COME HERE FOR LECTURE I CAME HERE FOR HELP!_

 **Lesbro:** _Dust, you save someone's proposal and wedding ONE TIME and suddenly you're their go to for love advice._

 **Yang:** _Are you going to help me or not?!_

 **Lesbro:** _Chill out Yang of course I'm going to help you. Dust, I SAVED YOUR PROPOSAL AND YOUR WEDDING AFTER ALL!_

 **Yang:** _WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO LET THAT GO?!_

 **Lesbro:** _WHEN YOU STOP HAVING TO BOTHER ME WITH YOUR INEPTITUDE AT BEING A WIFE AND LET ME FIGURE OUT HOW TO LOCK MY GIRLFRIENDS DOWN!_

 **Yang:** _Hold up what's this about locking your girlfriends down? That's kinky, man._

 **Lesbro:** _Do you want my help or not?!_

 **Yang:** _Yes!_

 **Lesbro:** _Then stop making fun of me! And I mean figuring how and when I'm going to propose. Now listen up because I'm going to show you how to be the best wife in the world._

 **Yang:** _Better than Blake?_

 **Lesbro:** _LMAO NO! Second best wife I guess._

Yang guessed that would have to do.


	74. Panic (Part Three)

**Lesbro:** _Just come clean and tell them._

 **Yang:** _Can you even hear the dumb words you're saying?! I CAN'T LET THEM KNOW I FORGOT! ESPECIALLY BLAKE! SHE'S SO DUST DAMN SMUG!_

 **Lesbro:** _True, true, she is super smug_

 **Yang:** _Imagine marrying that woman!_

 **Lesbro:** _You do know that I liked her right? So like I did_

**Yang:** _Does that make it more or less awkward that I'm asking you for relationship advice with her_

**Lesbro:** _Definitely more. But it's cool, my girls are cooler_

 **Yang:** _I don't have time to argue with your stupid ass. Just tell me what to do_

 **Lesbro:** _First, you can start acting nicer to me because I'm helping you. Second, I'm on my way_

 **Yang:** _WHAT?! If they see you they'll know that I forgot!_

 **Lesbro:** _I thought you trusted me_

 **Yang:** _You as a person? Absolutely. You as a ninja? I once saw you trip down two flights of stairs, land on your feet, and then slip on the banana peal you dropped on the way down._

 **Lesbro:** _That's racist._

**Yang:** _IT'S NOT RACIST IF IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED!_

**Lesbro:** _Whatever, just don't screw anything up. Anything ELSE that is. I'm on my way._

 **Yang:** _Please hurry._

Yang slid her scroll back into her pocket and glanced to the side, seeing that Ruby was watching her with a smirk.

Yang scowled at her, wishing that she could hit Ruby in the back of the head like old times. Unfortunately for Yang, it was generally frowned upon for one to smack their pregnant sister in the back of the head.

Blake suddenly reappeared and set down a large binder, which caused all three of her wives to jump in shock.

"What's that?" Yang asked, dread filling her.

Of course Blake would have more than just breakfast planned!

"It's a binder," the faunus said, smirking.

Weiss reached forward to open it while Yang rolled her eyes in frustration. She didn't know why she'd expect anything less than perfection from the cat faunus.

Weiss suddenly gasped as she looked down at the binder, one hand reaching up to cover her mouth in shock.

"Blake, this is...," Weiss paused for a moment, running her hand reverently down the page as she looked down at it, "this is amazing."

Ruby and Yang both leaned over to get a better look at the binder, Yang dreading every moment of it.

She was met with...

Yang's eyes widened in shock as her gaze landed on a familiar picture. Ruby burst out laughing as she saw it, leaning against Weiss' side. It was a picture of their wedding day, cake smeared over all four of their faces.

The page flipped, and they were met by another photo of their wedding, all four of them standing at the alter.

Another page brought dozens upon dozens of pictures of their lives together, the funniest of which being their old identification pictures from Beacon. All of them looked different and so, **so** much younger than they used to.

Another page revealed more and more pictures of their wedding and their journeys, some of which came from Velvet and some from Penny's memory banks that she had printed out. Some of those included fights, others had them asleep together in their airship.

All four of them were on the verge of tears by the time they got to the end of the album, which had a copy of both ultrasounds.

Weiss flipped the page and came to find that the rest of the album was empty, expect for the page right after it.

 _The beginning_ , it read, making Ruby and Weiss finally start to cry. Yang joined them after a moment, holding her hand up to wipe at her eyes.

She knew that she wouldn't be able to beat her wife at this.

That's when she felt her scroll buzz, and she slid it out of her pocket, glancing down her at device.

 **Lesbro:** _Who's the best lesbro in the world?!_

 **Yang:** _What'd you do?_

 **Lesbro:** _That's a really weird way of saying thank you for everything you've done for me, my wives, and my sisters, you're the best friend in the world and I couldn't survive without you because I forgot my own anniversary and you're saving me from a smugger version of my wife._

 **Yang:** _Can I just copy and paste that or is the sentiment clear?_

 **Lesbro:** _Fine! I'm outside, meet me out there_

 **Yang:** _How am I supposed to get outside on my own anniversary?!_

**Lesbro:** _Don't ask me! My job is to get you some romantic stuff because you forgot._

**Yang:** _Part of getting me that stuff includes ACTUALLY GETTING IT TO ME!_

 **Lesbro:** _Dear dust, can't you do anything for yourself?!_

**Yang:** _Clearly not._

**Lebro:** _FINE! I'll figure it out!_

 **Yang:** _THANKS LOVE YOU BYE!_

 **Lesbro:** _Asshole._

 **Yang:** _I know._


	75. Panic (Part Four)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! Back for good now! School is OUT guys, gals, and any locals in between!

Blake had, somehow, convinced Ruby and Weiss that the classic flowers and chocolate on the anniversary was romantic, a fact that Yang couldn't believe. Honestly, Blake wasn't **that** romantic... she was just... she was just smart! That made this whole thing unfair on so many levels! Why was Blake her opponent?! This was like an ant wrestling with a human! Blake was going to crush Yang under her boot like some dust damn bug! Yang was just not romantic like that, which made her hesitantly rethink about her decision to marry that faunus. Well, no, she was in love with her, but maybe she should just divorce her today and then get married next week so that she could have another year without anniversaries. How long could she keep that up? Yang considered for a moment.

No, that was stupid. She had barely won over Weiss and Blake over the first time (Yang honestly still couldn't believe that), so she didn't want to test her luck with winning them over a second time.

Dust, maybe they'd just settle for making things simpler and marry just Ruby instead of her sister, which was honestly a horrifying idea for the blond considering in that scenario not only her wives would betray her but then she'd be jealous of not only them but her **sister**!

Yang was spiraling, but she couldn't help it.

She was worried that, if she wasn't able to pull this off with Sun, then she might as well kiss that beautiful ring of hers goodbye, as well as her wives. Well, on second thought, she probably wouldn't be **able** to kiss them goodbye because they'd hate her.

Yang tuned herself back into the current situation, finding that Blake had finally stopped dancing with Ruby (apparently the faunus had taken **_tango_** lessons?!?! WHEN HAD SHE FOUND THE DUST DAMN TIME?!)

Blake spun Ruby around in a circle before dipping the team leader, leaning down and connecting their lips.

While Ruby was distracted, her hands reaching up so that she could lock them together behind Blake's neck as she deepened the kiss, Blake pulled one hand away from where it had been holding Ruby around the waist. She reached her hand up and put a rose behind Ruby's ear. When the pair pulled apart, Ruby smiled up at her, gently touching the flower that Blake had put behind her ear.

Ruby flushed deeply as Blake put her back on her feet, leaning down to give her a quick kiss.

Yang rolled her eyes at the pair and started tapping her foot impatiently, waiting for Sun to finally respond to the myriad of texts she had sent him since he'd said he'd find a way into the house to help Yang.

She let out a quiet sigh as Blake then spun to grab Weiss around the waist, not missing a beat as the music continued to play.

Yang had no idea what she was going to do... this was like her worst nightmare. Like she had **literally** had nightmares about Blake out flirting her and being more charming. This was an **actual** nightmare that the blond had had, complete with tango and... Yang patted her legs to make sure that she had pants on, because in her nightmares that was something **else** Blake could say made her worse at flirting...

"Psst!" a hiss sounded out.

Yang jumped and almost fell out of her chair. She glanced down and saw-

"Su-"

Sun's palm slapped against her mouth to stop Yang from ruining her plans.

"Oh thank dust," Yang whispered as soon as he withdrew his palm. He was curled up by the corner of the counter in the kitchen, looking up at where Yang sat.

She reached down to grab the bag he had clutched in his tail, but his tail pulled back and he held the sandwich bag just a little out of her reach.

"First I want to hear you say it."

"No way."

"Fine. I'll just leave, tell Blake everything, and-"

"Dust!" Yang hissed, glancing over her shoulder and finding that Blake was still occupied with Weiss, Ruby watching the two with a love struck expression on her face. "Fine!"

Sun beamed like a kid in a candy shop. Yang cleared her throat, rolling her eyes.

"Sun Wukonobi, you're my only hope!" Yang said in a slightly higher pitched voice, staring down at Sun.

The faunus beamed up at her before he passed the bag to her.

"Good luck!" he hissed, starting to dart toward the exit he'd made (an opened window).

Yang snatched him by the tail and pulled him back, Sun barely stopped himself from crying out in shock and pain, which Yang was grateful for.

"What?!" Sun hissed angrily.

"I still need you!" Yang pleaded.

"Why?! I gave you the goods!"

"You're not a drug dealer, and **look at her, Sun**! She _learned how to tango for today!_ "

Sun peeked around the corner and watched Blake.

"Oh damn, girl, she's gonna mop the floor with you."

"Yeah! I know!" Yang hissed.

Sun considered for a moment before he sighed, shaking his head.

"Fine... fine! But you have to say it again!"

"Never!" Yang hissed.

"Yang, I'm saving your anniversary. This is **literally** the anniversary of the last time I saved your relationship, it's the least you can do!"

"Fine! Later!" Yang whispered.

"Then I get to record it and use it as my ringtone for you."

Yang considered.

"Fine," she hissed.

Sun reached his tail out, encircling Yang's hand with it and shaking it vigorously.

"You got yourself a deal, Yang!" he whispered.

Suddenly, he threw himself to the side with surprising ease and silence.

Yang turned just in time to see Blake reach out and grab her by the hand, tugging her out of her seat and spinning her to the beat of the music.

As they began to dance, Yang was hardly able to take her eyes off of Blake. Yes, she was, admittedly... rather charming. Dust, she certainly hadn't been when they were in the weird transitional phase between friendship and romance, but ever since the faunus had been able to stop overthinking things (which was always her greatest enemy), she was able to calm down and show off just how charming she could be. And even Yang couldn't argue with how... impressive it could be, sometimes.

As she was spun through the dance steps with ease by Blake, she let her gaze flicker to the counter occasionally, finding that Sun was silently closing the window before he scuttled across the ground and slid into the bedroom. Yang distantly wondered if he was going to go into the air vents.

But she was distracted as Blake dipped her, leaning down with a wide smile on her face.

"You know why today's special?" the faunus whispered as the music started to fade.

"It's our anniversary," Yang replied immediately, not wanting Blake to **ever** know that she had forgotten.

Blake laughed quietly and leaned closer.

"Of course, silly. But it's not just the anniversary of **anything**. It's the anniversary not just of our wedding, but the day our family was born. It's the start of something new, the day we could all leave behind our old lives and become new. It's the start of **everything** for me, Yang."

Blake was about to kiss her, but Yang reached one hand up to cradle Blake's face.

"It **is** everything to me, Kit-Kat," Yang replied, leaning up just slightly so that they could finally connect their lips.

Despite how happy this made her, feeling the faunus pull her closer, she couldn't help but internally scream with guilt at her own forgetfulness.

Fixing today wasn't just about covering for her mistake, but showing how much she **really did** care for her wives and their anniversary, even if she'd forgotten the exact date of it.


	76. Panic (Part Five)

Sun pushed against the air vents so that he could see into the room better, watching as Blake set Yang back on her feet, giving the blond a wide smirk.

Sun let out a quiet sigh before he pulled himself back by the tail, scurrying through the air vents as quietly as he could. Just as he was about to reach the room he was aiming for (the bedroom), he felt a hand grab his.

He almost screamed, but another hand slapped over his mouth to cover the noise.

Sun's eyes widened as he spun, trying to see who his attacker was and detach them from him.

"Hey, calm down," a familiar voice said. The figure bled from black to a familiar shade of tan, looking down at him.

Sun should have recognized her earlier, from the familiar rough and almost calloused touch of her hands. Ilia looked down at him with a small smirk on her face.

"You're not as good at this whole sneaking thing as you think," Ilia said, releasing him and pushing herself a little bit backwards.

"What're you doing here?" Sun hissed, glancing over his shoulder as if expecting someone else to appear from the shadows. Maybe Pyrrha was crouched back there? But that made no sense, considering her armor would probably make a loud scrapping sound against the metal behind them. But why was Ilia even here?! The idea made him glance over his should **again**.

"You didn't think you were **that** good at sneaking out, did you?" Ilia asked.

"He really isn't!" another voice chimed in, louder than they probably should have.

"Nora, I told you to be **quiet** ," Ilia hissed, reaching back to put her hand on her teammate's arm to calm her down.

"I know, but I'm really bad at that," Nora whispered.

"I know," Ilia said with a sigh. "Couldn't Ren have been the one in the vents instead?"

"Nope!"

Ilia's hand slammed against Nora's mouth, and the faunus grimaced.

"That worked the first time, and it was super gross, but not this time," Ilia hissed.

Nora grumbled and tried to lick Ilia's hand against, but the faunus pressed Nora's lips together to stop her.

"Seriously, what are you two doing here?! And Ren?! Where is **he**?" Sun hissed, leaning forward so that he was closer to his girlfriend, hoping that his voice was quiet enough that he didn't make any noise outside of the vents.

"We're here to help Yang, and Ren's sneaking around outside because he's the only one of us other than myself who can actually blend in at all," Ilia said.

"Why do you want to help Yang?" Sun asked, wondering vaguely if this was some sort of trap that the cat faunus herself had set up for Yang and Sun.

"Because Blake's always so smug," Nora replied, pushing Ilia off of her. The two tumbled over, Nora's shove apparently stronger than she'd expected. The pair started to fall forward, but Sun wrapped his tail around the pair to stop them from hitting the air vents and causing a loud echo.

"Yeah it's kind of annoying," Ilia said as she pushed herself back to a crouching position, setting Nora down gently.

Nora gave her a wide grin before it redirected itself toward Sun.

"So, where do we start?" she asked.

Sun rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Uh, well, you see... I just gave Yang some flowers and chocolate and a couple of teddy bears for them..."

Nora and Ilia stared at him blankly.

"That's it? She's up against Blake, and that's all you did?" Ilia asked with a small, disappointed look on her face.

"I, well... I didn't have that much time to do something special because Yang was so panicked! I had to act fast and you know how nervous that makes me, Ils!" Sun whispered, his voice coming out in almost a whine as he leaned closer to her, hoping that his pouty face would cause her to forgive him quicker.

Ilia held out for a moment before she sighed, shaking her head.

"You're not the brightest, are you?" she whispered, reaching one hand up to put on his own with a small, fond smile.

"I **am** a monkey."

Ilia rolled her eyes while Nora forced herself not to laugh at the words, covering her mouth with both hands to stop the snort that was about to erupt.

Ilia rolled her eyes **again** at the other girl and pushed herself through the air vents.

"Oh! Oh! I have an idea on how to do romantic things!" she hissed, about to bounce up and down before Ilia grabbed her around the waist to halt the movements.

"Nora, just... why don't you just focus on staying quiet?" Sun offered with a small smile on his face.

"But I have an idea!" Nora whispered while slapping Ilia's hands to evade her attempts to silence her by slapping a palm over her mouth.

"Do you really?" Ilia asked suspiciously, moving back just slightly from her attempts to silence the other girl.

"Yes! Or, well, Jaune will. I don't personally have an idea," Nora expanded, "but I have an idea on who to ask about ideas."

"Why would he have an idea?" Sun questioned, leaning against Ilia's back and wrapping his limbs around her like a real monkey as he set his chin on her head. Ilia spared him one found look before she forced her attention back to Nora.

"He has this weird thing where he thinks he's like the third wheel with Ren and I, so he's always so romantic to prove he deserves to be with us, which is stupid, but," Nora took a deep breath and forced herself to focus. "Anyways, he'd totally come up with something!"

Sun and Ilia glanced at one another for a moment, considering their options.

"I guess that we could give it a shot," Sun said after getting Ilia's silent opinion on the matter.

"Nothing to lose," Ilia agreed.

"Great!" Nora said with a quiet hiss, grabbing Ilia by the hand and tugging her through the vents toward where they'd left her boyfriends.

Ilia tried to slow down Nora, hoping that she wouldn't make too much sound and alert someone other than Yang about their presence.


	77. Panic (Part Six)

Sun opened the air vents and the three of them pushed themselves outside to find Jaune and Ren sitting on team RWBY's bed.

"Hello," Ren said primly, nodding his head slightly in greeting.

"Where's Pyrrha?" Sun whispered to his other girlfriend.

"Sun, you know how much I love Pyrrha, and I know how much you love her... but she isn't exactly... well, she isn't a ninja like Ren, easy to ignore like Jaune," the team leader let out a cry of disdain, "or easy to blend in like me, or determined like you for that matter. She just kind of... stands out."

"What? How so?" Sun asked, frowning in confusion as he glanced toward the rest of his teammates.

"She's six feet tall in her heels, which are the loudest shoes I've ever heard, and she only wears armor everyday. Not to mention she's literally one of the most well known celebrities in the world," Ilia said.

"That's... okay, I can't argue with that," Sun said, shrugging just slightly as he let out a sigh.

"She's waiting outside with the car."

"We have a car?" Sun asked.

"We do now!" Nora said excitedly.

"Okay, just gonna breeze right by that," Sun said.

"Pyrrha wanted me to tell you, and I quote," Ilia said, clearing her throat, "'I believe in you sweetie, you're going to be great and you're such a good friend.'"

Sun smiled fondly and rolled his eyes at the words.

"I'm sure she did...," Sun shook his head to clear it and turned back to the rest of their teammates. "Anyways, Nora said something about Jaune being romantic? Is that... is that true?"

"Yeah, I had my doubts about that," Ilia said, rolling her eyes when the team leader let out a very annoying whine.

"Trust me, he's great! He has all these sweet words and gestures and stuff...," Nora grinned and winked at Jaune, who smirked back at her.

Ren was nodding.

"Surprising as it might seem," Jaune squawked at his boyfriend's words, "Nora is telling the truth," his girlfriend squawked at her boyfriend's words. "Jaune really it very romantic."

Ilia glanced at Sun and the two silently communicated their doubt.

"Hey, hey! I get it too! I doubted me at first!" Jaune said, holding up his hands defensively. "But Blake showed me **the way**!"

"The way?" Ilia asked skeptically.

"The way...," Jaune paused dramatically, "of **romance**!"

"That's it! I'm officially out!" Ilia hissed, already stalking toward the nearby window and sliding it open. Her legs were outside by the time Sun was able to rush over and grab her by the wrist.

"Hey, Ils, just wait a second!" he whispered fervently. "Please? I need you, honey."

"Don't try to give me the pouting face. Pyrrha's better at it and you have no effect on me."

"Are you... are you saying you love her more than me? Is that why you're going outside? To spend today with her instead of me?" Sun asked, looking at her with fake hurt in his eyes, bottom lip trembling as he put his hands together, holding her own near his chest.

Ilia stared at him blankly, not seeming impressed in the slightest.

There was a long moment of silence while Nora and her boyfriends stared at the pair, wondering what Ilia's decision would be.

Her expression didn't change in the slightest for a long time before she let out a sigh, shaking her head.

"Fine! You know that I don't have favorites between you two, and I know that you're just guilting me, and I have **no** dust damn idea how you actually were able to do that successfully because it **should not** have worked in the slightest, but...," Ilia sighed again and leaned her head against Sun's shoulder, "fine."

Sun cheered quietly, reaching forward and wrapping his arms around Ilia's waist. She let out a quiet sound of shock as Sun picked her up, pulling her back into the bedroom and out of the window. Nora slid the window shut quickly and surprisingly soundlessly, turning to face her teammates.

"So, wait... **Blake** taught you to be romantic?!" Sun cried, staring at Jaune in disbelief.

The team leader smirked and glanced at his nails smugly.

"Oh, just a bit."

"How much?" Ilia demanded.

"A lot."

"Why?" Sun demanded.

"Because I sucked," Jaune said sadly, head dropping.

"But do you now?" Ilia demanded, not losing any of her intimidation as Sun gently held her in a bridal carry, slowly setting her down on her feet.

"I have Blake's **personal** stamp of approval," Jaune said smugly, pulling out a small sticker that he had on his shield and showing it off.

Ilia stared at it.

"So... she gave you a sticker? Like... like a nine year old learning how to play the piano?"

Jaune flushed slightly, but he nodded.

"You can't make me feel bad about myself this time, Ilia! I'm **very** proud of everything I learned!"

Sun and Ilia glanced at one another for a long moment before the monkey faunus slowly slid his scroll out of his pocket.

 **Sun:** _Hey, I'm gonna need a new favor._

 **Lessis:** _Dude I already said the nerdy quote to you, what else could you want???_

**Sun:** _You're going to get me enrolled in Blake's personal charm school. I know it's not the time but I'm GOING to need to be enrolled._

**Lessis:** _I don't know, she's pretty exclusive with who she lets in. Only disasters are capable of being enrolled, and you're not a disaster._

 **Sun:** _That's so unfair! She wasn't a disaster!_

 **Lessis:** _Uh yeah she was. Have you NOT heard the stories of how she had no idea we were all in love with her for months before she realized she had ANY romantic interest in us??? And you're not going to be capable of enrolling._

Ilia smirked as she watched Sun's conversation with Yang on his scroll.

She waited for a moment before she struck, her hand shooting forward and stealing the device while Sun let out a quiet sound of shock, careful not to be too loud so as not to let the members of team RWBY know they were here.

 **Sun:** _Hey, Ilia here, enroll me instead I'm a disaster!_

 **Lessis:** _Done._

Sun stole his scroll back and growled.

"Dang it, Ils! Now I'll never get in!" he hissed, rolling his eyes and sliding his device back into his pocket.

"You weren't going to anyways, hon."

Sun grumbled as he shook his head, turning back to his teammates and focusing on the matter at hand.

"Okay! What's the plan?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey btw soulmate AU is out now


	78. Panic (Part Seven)

Blake watched Yang with a small, smug smirk. The blond seemed to think she was making up the competition, Blake could tell, and Yang's plan was still not complete. It was part of why she was acting so skiddish and nervous.

Not finishing the plans months beforehand was not Yang's only mistake, considering she still seemed to think Blake wasn't partaking in a competition.

Yang reached into her brown bag (amateur move), and pulled out a box of chocolates, which she passed to Weiss.

"Aw, thanks, Yang, you got my favorite!" Yang beamed at Weiss' praise, but Blake just smirked. "Am I even allowed to eat this when I'm pregnant?" Weiss asked irritably, glancing at Blake.

Blake gave her a kind smile, moving closer while Yang scrambled to answer the question.

Blake wrapped her arms around Weiss' waist.

"I think that it can be a good exception for today... even if you're twenty weeks pregnant with four of the seven most perfect children that will ever be born."

Weiss' affections instantly shifted from Yang to Blake, and she fell back into her embrace, grinning at the faunus shyly.

"Thanks...," she said slowly, blushing just slightly as Blake tucked some hair behind her ear, "I'm just..."

"If you ever dare say that you're worried about eating too much or getting too much weight, then I have personally failed as a wife for expressing my love for you," Blake said.

Yang gaped at her as Weiss' eyes filled with tears, leaning closer to the faunus and starting to tell her how thankful she was for having heard those words.

While Blake accepted the praise, she caught sight of Yang gaping at her, clearly wondering how Blake had known exactly what Weiss was worried about. Blake would **never** , under any circumstances, let the blond know that she'd been monitoring Weiss and her nervous mumbling (which the former heiress only did when she was extremely stressed and sure that she was alone). Blake had only heard it because she may or may not have already set up baby monitors in... literally every room in their house, including upstairs.

"I love you," Weiss breathed, leaning back so that she was further in Blake's arms.

"I love you too," Blake replied, stroking Weiss' arm gently before she tugged her even closer. She placed a kiss on the crest of the former heiress' head.

"Aw, Weiss, stop hogging Blake! Why don't you go with Yang and whatever her romantic stuff is!"

Weiss glared at Ruby and grabbed Blake's hand, which was set on her stomach and gently trying to prob and find one of the four babies (Weiss had noticed despite Blake not wanting her to or thinking she had).

"No way!" Weiss said, pulling ever closer to the faunus.

"Hey! I'm not that bad!" Yang whined. Nobody responded to her.

"Why do you want to pawn me off on Yang!"

"Because Blake's my only wife that's doing stuff for our anniversary, and I am pretty sure Yang doesn't have any romantic stuff for me! At least I pray that she doesn't!" Ruby cried.

"I definitely don't," Yang said, riffling through her brown paper bag and suddenly worrying that she might actually. She should send a text to Sun and make sure, but she couldn't at the moment considering Blake was still watching her.

It was eery, having Blake's attention. The faunus was still gently running her hand on Weiss' stomach, but her head was set on her shoulder and she was staring directly at Yang.

"No way, I'm not leaving," Weiss said to Ruby, smirking as she set her head back so that she could look at Blake happily.

"Then I'm coming!" Ruby cried, tipping over and trying to fall against Blake.

The cat faunus scrambled, taking one arm off of Weiss and reaching it out so that she could catch Ruby before she fell. The team leader smirked as if she had known that the faunus wouldn't let her down, wiggling so that she was closer to Blake and Weiss.

Blake let out a sigh of content and pulled both closer.

"Don't you dare," Weiss said immediately, feeling a slight rumbling building up in Blake's chest as she pulled closer to Ruby and wrapping an arm around the team leader.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Blake said, her chest rumbling just a bit more.

"Seriously, don't," Weiss continued.

"Don't what?" Ruby asked.

"I have no idea," Blake said, but there was a slight rumble to her words as she began to purr.

"Dang it," Weiss grumbled, reaching one hand down to cradle her stomach.

Ruby groaned as she felt the triplets starting to move around in response to the cat faunus' purring.

Blake laughed quietly and with a slightly guilty look on her face. The purring didn't stop.

"Why do you do this?" Weiss moaned.

"Because I love you and them. I want them to be able to have their earliest memories as something happy. I want them to have beautiful and wonderful lives, and I believe that it all starts from the moment they're conceived."

Weiss grumbled and put her head on top of Ruby's own with a sigh.

"Why do you have to be so sweet? Can't you be a bit more rude like Yang?" she asked, gesturing at the blond, who let out a sound of shock, holding her mechanical hand up to her chest.

"Hey! I'm trying to be nice! I got you chocolates!" Yang cried.

"Oh, right, the chocolates," Blake said with a smirk that she directed at the blond.

Yang's eyes widened and she reached out quickly, but Blake was there first, her hand swiping out gently so that she could grab the chocolate.

"Here, I'll get it for you," the faunus said smoothly, grabbing the first piece of chocolate and raising it toward Weiss.

The former heiress let out a quiet laugh and blushed slightly as she took a bite.

Blake smirked while Weiss looked at her lovingly.

Ruby pouted just slightly, glancing at the chocolates.

Blake didn't miss a beat, reaching into her pocket and grabbing a bag of cookies she'd been saving for the perfect moment.

This was obviously the perfect moment, and Ruby looked at her with hearts for eyes as she leaned closer, taking the cookies excitedly.

"I love you!" Ruby cheered.

Yang cursed as she saw the two pregnant women curl closer to Blake, practically sitting in her lap at this moment.

"I love you too, Sugar."

Ruby giggled as she leaned closer to the faunus, starting to play with her ears gently.

Yang saw Blake glance away from her, and she scrambled to send a text to Sun about needing something **big** to win this anniversary.

Blake smirked and placed another kiss on the top of Ruby's head.

"I think there might be a special movie waiting for us," Blake said.

Ruby suddenly gasped excitedly, staring at the faunus.

"Is it-"

"Our movie?" Blake asked. "I guess you'll have to come and see."

"You're amazing," Ruby breathed as she bounced to her feet, grabbing Weiss and Blake, each in one hand, and tugging them to the couch where the three sat down. Blake turned on the television just as Yang took the final seat beside Blake, wrapping her arm around the faunus. She was rather frustrated by her wife having done so well with Ruby and Weiss, but it wasn't as if Blake had made it a competition...

The faunus smirked as she set her head on Ruby's shoulder.

Dust, she **was** making this a competition! And Yang was failing **so badly**! So badly that it wasn't even funny in the slightest!

Blake smirked as Ruby bounced excitedly, suddenly falling into the faunus' lap entirely.

Blake pressed play on "their movie," which was really just a cheesy romantic comedy that Ruby and Blake had watched one night a few weeks ago when Weiss and Yang got held up at work. Ever since then, Ruby insisted on watching it whenever possible while curled up in Blake's lap. Typically, they watched it alone, but as it was their anniversary, Blake and Ruby were ready to finally show Yang and Weiss the movie for the first time.

Blake smiled as she felt Ruby shift in her lap, setting her head on her chest and starting to play with her ears and short hair.

Weiss curled up beside Ruby in the same way, putting one hand on the brunette's waist while putting her head on Blake's chest beside her as they started to watch the movie together.

Blake shifted her head just enough so that she could see Yang behind her, leaning back so that she could lean against the blond.

"Happy anniversary," Blake said gently.

Yang forced herself not to curse at the faunus and instead gave her a small smile.

"Happy anniversary," she said through gritted teeth.

Yang wrapped her arms around her two wives and her sister, pulling them all closer and starting to run her hand up and down the former heiress' arm.

Weiss gave her a small smile before she turned her attention back to the television to watch the movie that Ruby was already squealing over as she pulled closer to Blake, grabbing her shirt and grinning happily.

"Blake, you're so sweet! You always know the perfect thing to say!" Ruby said.

"Or do," Weiss added. "you're the best romantic."

Yang tightened her grip on Blake while the faunus smirked.

"Aw, thanks, Angel."


	79. Panic (Part Eight)

Yang grumbled as Blake continued to show off for the rest of the day. It was horrifying, wondering how she could ever show up her wife.

 _What are they planning?!_ Yang screamed in her head. She hadn't heard from Sun in **hours** , and Blake had been making so many amazing romantic acts that made Weiss and Ruby **swoon**! And if that wasn't bad enough, she'd even managed to charm Yang irresistibly, and she was having trouble being mad at the faunus, despite Blake being overwhelmingly smug about how well she was swooping her wives off of their feet. Literally.

Currently, Weiss was in Blake's arms as the faunus held her in a gentle bridal carry as they were heading to the bedroom so that they could lay down and watch a movie before bed.

Blake had set up the movie, something about a documentary, but Yang was sure that that was a lie considering the smirk she had had when Weiss and Ruby looked rather bored at the idea.

Blake opened the door, and Yang pulled out her scroll as she got a text.

 **Lesbro:** _You did this. Take credit when asked. Good luck lover girl!_

Before Yang could respond, she heard a loud gasp from Weiss.

Her gaze shot up and she was met with-

"Blake, did you set this up?" Ruby breathed.

"No, I didn't," the faunus said with a small smirk on her face, directing her gaze at Yang. "Someone else did."

Yang took a deep breath, looking around the room quickly. It was filled to the brim with flowers and chocolates to the side, but there was a large picnic set up filled with fancy food. The lighting was dim, as the windows had been closed and the lights were off, but there were a myriad of nice smelling candles that were lit around the room. Blake smiled as Yang stood straighter, grinning.

"Yes! I mean, yeah, I did! I set it up! That's why I didn't have anything nicer earlier today!" Yang said quickly.

"You were very convincing, Yang," Blake said as she set Weiss down on the bed, giving the blond a wide smile. "When did you get the chance to set this up?"

"Here and there," Yang lied, trying not to let her voice crack.

"And where did you keep all of these things before?" Blake asked. "There was so much. This must have been a **lot** of work."

"I think you might just be worried that she outdid you," Weiss said playfully.

Blake smiled, but her gaze didn't move from Yang.

"Oh no, I'm not worried at all."

Yang offered her a smile, but she was trembling just slightly as the faunus stared at her intently, eyes flickering over her face before up and down her form contemplatively. Yang laughed as she took a seat on the bed.

"I think she _is_ worried, Weiss," Yang said quickly.

Ruby laughed and set her head on Blake's shoulder while Weiss curled up beside Yang.

"Don't worry, I still think the tango was better," Ruby said.

"That was pretty amazing," Weiss said.

Yang grabbed the large bottle, reading the side of it quickly, feeling desperate.

"Who wants some juice?"

"Are you sure that's not champagne?" Weiss asked, raising an eyebrow with a small frown.

"Yup! I know you can't have alcohol! It's juice!" Yang said, internally thanking Sun and his team of lesbros. They really did save her life tonight.

Weiss grinned at Yang and took a sip of the drink that Yang had poured for her.

"That's really sweet, Yang," the former heiress said as the two started to eat.

 _Thank you, Sun_ , Yang thought, raising her cup just slightly and looking at the air vents, wondering if the monkey faunus could see her at the moment. She hoped so. She had to make sure that Ilia got lessons from Blake. It was the least she could do, besides repaying Sun for all of this (which she intended to do as soon as possible). The only problem she needed to figure out was how to get Ilia enrolled in that school from Blake without letting the faunus know what Yang owed her.

-

Sun scrambled through the air vents, attempting to be as silent as possible as he and all but one of his teammates went toward the exit.

"We did great, guys!" Sun hissed.

"We **are** getting our money back, aren't we?" Nora whispered.

"Not the time," Sun hissed, his tail reaching back to cover her mouth so that she couldn't speak again and ruin Yang's plans at the final moment, right when they thought they'd pulled it off.

Ilia let out a quiet laugh and gave Sun a quick wink as they hurried out.

Sun finally stopped and opened an air vent by the front door, taking his tail off of Ilia's mouth and lowering himself slowly to the ground so that he didn't make any noise.

Ilia jumped down, Sun catching her quickly and giving her a fond smile.

He would have said something romantic (probably something like her having **fallen** for him), but he caught sight of Nora throwing herself out of the air vent.

Sun dove to the side and grabbed her a moment before her feet could slam against the floor and create an echo that would probably ring throughout the entire, eerily silent house and alert Blake's ears of their treachery.

Sun let out a breath of relief as he set the excitable Nora down on the ground, the two boyfriends both slowly lowering themselves as well (although Ren did have to catch Jaune before he stumbled and fell on his face).

Sun slowly opened the front door, careful not to make any loud noises, and then ushered them all outside.

They sprinted to the car parked outside, Sun beaming as he triumphantly threw open the passanger door and leapt inside.

Ilia went to join the others in the back, but Sun grabbed her with his tail and tugged her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist gently.

Ilia let out a sound of shock at the action, but it was soon followed by a small scoff and a fond eye roll as she shifted just enough to get herself comfortable.

"How'd it go?" Pyrrha asked happily, looking over from the driver's seat.

"Great!" Sun said happily. "Now drive! You're the get away driver!"

"I'm glad you did well, Honey! But you two don't have your seat belt on and that's very dangerous."

Sun scrambled and put the seat belt on over himself and Ilia.

"Thank you, I was very worried," Pyrrha said before she put the car in reverse, pulling out of the driveway.

"You ruined the cool get away!" Nora whined.

"I think you made it better," Ilia said, putting her hand on top of Pyrrha's, which was set on the gear shift still.

"Yeah!" Sun said, wagging his tail happily.

Pyrrha gave them both smiles before she continued driving back toward the school with a wide grin on her face.

"Love you two," Pyrrha said.

Ilia and Sun echoed her words before they settled down, smiling gently as they watched the road pass by in front of them.

-

Yang grinned as she pulled closer to Blake and Weiss, holding them both tightly. Both of them were asleep, Ruby having joined them a few minutes ago. Yang was about to do so as well, but a quiet sound penetrated the silent room.

"Tell team JNIPRS I said thanks."

Yang's heart hammered in her chest.

"For what?"

Blake pulled closer and gave Yang a tired kiss before her breathing leveled out, indicating she had finally fallen asleep.

"Dust," Yang cursed under her breath. She didn't notice the small smirk on Blake's face.

 _Please. I had those baby monitors installed months ago, and ever since that stalker came into the house I've gotten security cameras,_ Blake thought to herself. _How could she think I wouldn't notice?_

But Blake had decided to let her have this, considering how much work Yang had put into this.

Besides, if Blake ever needed something, she could call in a favor by mentioning today...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! Anniversary over!!!


	80. The Semblance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team ATLS is back!

_Alea turned to give Pyrrha a questioning look as she helped Stacey to a standing position._

_"So you're saying," Alea started, shaking her head in disbelief, "that I've had a semblance on this time, but just **didn't notice**?! That's unbelievable!"_

_Terresa snorted._

_"Is it?" she asked, wincing at her laughter and putting a hand to her side._

_Alea was instantly distracted, walking over and putting a hand to her girlfriend's waist._

_"Are you alright?" she asked worriedly._

_"Didn't seem to care when you were kicking the crap outta me," Terresa said, rolling her eyes._

_"That's not my fault, beautiful. I'm the one that tried to stop the fight **you** started," Alea replied without looking up, probing at the wound._

_Terresa slapped her hand to get it away from the injured area._

_"Dust, woman! Don't you know anything about wounds?! You **don't touch them**!" she snapped._

_Alea gave her an apologetic smile._

_"Right! Sorry!"_

_Pyrrha watched the two for a minute before she cleared her throat, gaining the attention of all four members of team ATLS._

_"About your semblance, Ms. Ajax," the teacher started. "You were mostly right. It stems completely from your highly advanced Aura. Not only do you have drastically more than anyone I've ever seen, but it appears to give you other advanced attributes, besides being able to sustain more damage."_

_"It does?" Alea asked, staring blankly at the teacher._

_Pyrrha held in a sigh, nodding._

_"Yes. For example, you were able to sense attacks with far more accuracy than a normal Aura would allow you to. But your Aura doesn't just help you in a fight. Many believe that the Aura is tied to one's soul, and yours seems to be evidence of that. For lack of a better explanation, you appear to others to be... more **alive**. Your presence draws attention, your words are taken as commands to those who can be easily bend to your will, and you're able to intimidate others by sheer willpower."_

_"So you're saying that my semblance is just... my Aura?" Alea asked, frowning. "That seems kinda lame."_

_"How is that lame?!" Lexey cried._

_"Well I mean you can literally shut off your emotions. Dust, I saw one girl almost burn down the school yesterday!" Alea replied._

_"Al, you just took out all three of your teammates and your Aura hasn't even broken," Terresa said while Stacey rolled her eyes rather petulantly, crossing her arms against her chest._

_"Yeah, but my Aura never...," Alea slowed down, eyes widening dramatically now as if she had just figured out what her semblance really meant, "breaks... my Aura never breaks."_

_Stacey threw her arms up into the air, frustration evident in her expression._

_"That's what we're saying!" she snapped._

_Alea laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck and giving Stacey a small smile that she hoped would calm the other girl's anger._

_Stacey watched her for a moment, eyes darting across the team leader's form before landing on her face. Stacey watched as a droplet of sweat trailed down Alea's face, making her seem to shine even more than she usually did._

_'Dust,' Stacey thought to herself, 'note to self: Alea is never allowed to workout again. It's just not fair.'_

_Pyrrha saw that all of Alea's teammates were suddenly distracted by their team leader, and the teacher frowned just slightly. That was a rather low blow from Alea, considering she could clearly tell that all three of them were attracted to her._

_Alea had **obviously** struck a pose on purpose, flashing each of them a wink before she took off her jacket._

_"Is it just me or is it hot in here?" Alea asked innocently, glancing at Pyrrha and giving her a small, sheepish smile that came across as flirtatious. "Maybe it was just the workout."_

_Alea ran a hand through her hair, shaking her head just slightly and jostling it further._

_Pyrrha was about to ask the team leader to stop purposefully distracting her teammates, but just then Terresa was able to speak._

_"Wait, wait, wait, hold up, I'm having a realization."_

_"Don't you have to have thoughts to have one of those?" Stacey asked, though she had on a small, distracted smile._

_"Rude, but yes," Terresa said, waving her hand dismissively. "But that's not important right now. What matters is... we need to break her Aura."_

_Alea's eyes widened again and her hands shot to her weapon, holding it in her hands tightly as she looked at her girlfriends._

_"What?! I thought we just moved on! We found out what my semblance was, so we can go on with our lives!"_

_Stacey and Lexey glanced at Terresa, but they didn't voice any concern at the idea, rather just looking intrigued at Terresa's reasoning._

_That did not make Alea feel any less uneasy._

_"If her semblance makes her seem more **alive**... is that why she's such a flirt?!" Terresa cried._

_Alea frowned in confusion._

_"What? We've been over this, honey, I'm not a flirt."_

_Pyrrha raised an eyebrow, glancing at the team leader, surprised to find a look of innocent confusion on her face._

_"That doesn't seem like something that a semblance would affect," Pyrrha said, trying to calm the room down. "That just seems like a personality thing-"_

_"But it's not," Lexey interrupted, watching Alea with a light of curiosity. "Alea has no **idea** how to flirt! It's all an accident!"_

_Pyrrha hesitated, the image of the team leader capturing the hearts of several students inside her very classroom flashing before her eyes._

_"It's true," Alea said awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. "Apparently I'm... flirtatious? I don't really know how, I swear."_

_Pyrrha considered for a moment before she drew her sword._

_Alea scrambled back, looking to her teammates with wide eyes._

_"Please don't attack me my Aura's low," she said quickly, fear filling her. She still didn't know what it felt like for it to break fully._

_"Of course I won't, unless you decide that you truly want to test what happens when your Aura breaks. Besides knowing whether it can alter how you're perceived, it could also tell you what your semblance is capable of, which could be vital information considering you've never tested it before."_

_Alea tightened her grip on her own broad sword, though she knew that she couldn't beat Pyrrha, even if her Aura was completely filled. Pyrrha wasn't only a champion, but she was also a teacher **and** a Maiden! Alea couldn't beat **any** of those things on her best days! And today was **literally** her best day! She'd never fought like that before!_

_She glanced at her teammates, silently wondering what their thoughts were._

_Terresa seemed creepily excited at the prospect of seeing her team leader without her Aura, grinning broadly and even hollering her enthusiasm. Stacey was smirking, leaning against a chair with her arms crossed against her chest. That meant she was just as enthused as Terresa was. Lexey was the only one that seemed human at the moment, giving Alea a small, encouraging smile._

_Alea hesitated, glancing at Pyrrha._

_"Can I have a moment to talk to my teammates, please?" she asked._

_Pyrrha gave her a small smile and nodded, letting her sword rest against the ground beside her._

_Alea walked up to them and let out a sigh, running her hand through her hair again._

_"Hey!" Stacey snapped. "Don't try to distract us."_

_"I wasn't?" Alea said, but it came out as more of a question, causing Stacey to roll her eyes with a hint of fondness to her gaze._

_"Al, why are you really worried about this?" Lexey asked. "It can't just be about the whole concept of your Aura breaking for the first time, right? It happens to everyone all the time. Dust, you're probably the only person in this whole school who hasn't experienced it a dozen times."_

_"No, it's... it's not that. I mean, originally it was, because it's scary and I don't like the idea of being defenseless, but now..."_

_"Now it's something else, we get it," Terresa said, waving her hand impatiently. "Just tell us what it is and we can fix it for you, babe."_

_Alea gave her a small smile and shook her head slowly._

_"Promise you three won't laugh?" she asked quietly._

_"Of course!" Lexey said instantly._

_"I'll try," Terresa offered._

_"I will make no such promises," Stacey said._

_Alea stared at her._

_"What? I'm not going to lie to my girlfriend," Stacey replied, crossing her arms. There was a moment where she seemed to consider before she sighed, her features softening as she stared at her team leader. "But you don't have to worry. I'm here for you... even if I'm laughing at you while I'm here."_

_"Thanks," Alea said softly, taking a deep breath._

_"Dust, Stac," Terresa stared, tone overly sarcastic. "That was **so** romantic. I see why she fell for you."_

_"Shut up," Stacey growled, face flushing as she nervously glanced at her partner. After a moment of staring, she looked away quickly and tucked a bit of hair behind her ear, some of it having fallen out of her typically very well put up hair that had come undone during the fight. Alea thought it looked adorable._

_"Hey, it's okay," Lexey offered, putting her hand on Alea's arm gently and giving her a wide, comforting smile._

_Alea met it before she let out a sigh, beginning to speak slowly._

_"It's just... you three fell for the Aura-having, accidentally flirtatious and weirdly charming version of me. What if... what if you don't like **me**? I mean, the regular me without an Aura? I mean, will I be that different? Is it just me without being charming? Or do **I** not even know who I am underneath my Aura?!"_

_There was a beat of silence before Stacey burst out laughing, Terresa joining her after a moment. Alea curled in on herself slightly, and Lexey tightened her grip on the other girl's arm.  
_

_"Hey, hey, it's alright, of **course** we like the real you! We **know** the real you, just... with some added charm bonus."_

_"Al, I love you, but that was the stupidest thing you've ever said," Stacey said, rolling her eyes._

_"Yeah. I mean the three of us already know how awkward you are now. Cat's outta the bag. Now we just get to **see** it! And I, for one, am excited, because I get to finally see a better image of what's **really** going on in that head of yours," Terresa said, reaching her hand up so that she could tap her team leader in the forehead gently._

_Alea laughed quietly, grabbing Terresa's hand in her own and rubbing her thumb against the palm._

_Terresa grinned at her while Alea gave her a fond smile._

_Stacey put her hand on Alea's other one and leaned closer, setting her head on her shoulder._

_"Of course we're still going to like you without your Aura, Al. You know that I hate saying emotional stuff but... when I first realized that I liked you, it might have had something to do with your charm. But that was just some silly crush. When I really met you, met who you were underneath the flirting and the shockingly accidental innuendos that you make," Alea flushed, "that's when I really fell for you."_

_Alea gave her a wide grin and pulled her in for a tight hug, twirling the two in a circle excitedly._

_"Aw, Stac, that's so sweet! I love it when you get all mushy."_

_"Me too!" Lexey agreed enthusiastically, grabbing onto Stacey's free hand when she was set down by their team leader._

_Terresa gave Alea a quick kiss on the lips before she shoved her backward toward Pyrrha lightly._

_"Now that you know we won't change how we feel about you because of your Aura breaking, go get your ass handed to you."_

_"That's not very nice," Alea said._

_"Well you just beat up all three of your girlfriends, so I think that you kind of deserve this. Also, if you've really never had your Aura broken, that's totally unfair and you totally deserve to live through that. Love you, Sweetie!"_

_Alea rolled her eyes before she walked into the middle of the classroom, her eyes landing on Pyrrha._

_"Okay, Ms. Nikos, I'm ready to have my Aura broken."_

_The teacher glanced at the four members of team ATLS, a small smile adorning her features._

_"Alright. I'll make it quick."_

_"Thanks," Alea said, holding in a sigh as she closed her eyes tightly._

_A sword slammed against her chest and she was sent flying backward, hitting the wall._

_Alea groaned._

_"Yeah, that's how it feels," Stacey called._

_"Sorry," Alea mumbled, pushing herself to her feet._

_"Is her Aura **still** not broken?!" Terresa cried in disbelief._

_"She's amazing," Lexey breathed._

_"Yeah, yeah, we know you're totally in love with her, calm down," Terresa said, crossing her arms with a slightly sour look on her face. Lexey frowned in confusion at the expression, wondering why Terresa was upset. She thought that the three of them had gotten over being jealous of one another over Alea. Was Terresa still upset with her? That made no sense, right? Lexey filed that away for later._

_Meanwile, Pyrrha raised her hands, eyes starting to glow the red of her Aura color._

_Wind pummeled Alea from every direction and slammed against her._

_Alea slammed against the wall again, sliding slowly to the ground._

_"Can you just get it over with, please?" Alea grumbled, flopping over and laying on the ground with her arms and legs splayed out. She didn't even bother getting to her feet, knowing that she'd just get knocked down again when Pyrrha hit her again._

_"Sorry!" Pyrrha cried, wincing. "I'm really trying to get it over with, but I don't want to hurt you **after** it breaks!"_

_"Just hit her!" Terresa called._

_Another attack pummeled against Alea and she flew through the air for a long moment before she struck the ceiling._

_There was a beat before the wind stopped and she fell to the ground with a **thud**._

_"Ugh," Alea grumbled weakly. "Is it broken yet?"_

_"Shut up, Miss I-have-a-perfect-Aura," Terresa called._

_"And perfect hair," Lexey muttered._

_Stacey hummed her agreement._

_One more attack struck Alea and she was thrown through the air. The moment she hit the ground, she gasped in shock, her world seeming to dim around her as something changed._

_"Ha! We did it!" Terresa cheered._

_"Ms. Nikos did it, considering she broke **all** our Auras," Stacey muttered, arms still crossed a bit petulantly, clearly upset about that fact still._

_Lexey hurried forward, Terresa and Stacey following her, and heading toward their team leader._

_"You alright?" Lexey asked, reaching her hand down so that Alea could grab it._

_The team leader did so and was dragged to her feet._

_"I guess," Alea muttered, reaching one hand up to rub at her head._

_"Oh my dust! I'm so sorry!" Pyrrha cried, hurrying over. "Are you hurt?"_

_"No, I'm fine. Thanks for the help," Alea said, giving her a small smile before she turned to her teammates._

_All three of them stared at her for a long moment, their eyes searching up and down her body quickly as if searching to find anything different than before._

_"Well... I guess that you finally get to meet the me underneath the Aura...," Alea offered them a smile. "Yay!" she cheered quietly, her voice **almost** sarcastic but not quite, considering the nervousness._


	81. Shopping

Yang didn't enjoy this. She did **not** want to be doing this. But Blake was just so charming that she had convinced her-

No. That was the cover. The real reason was that Blake **knew** what had happened on their anniversary two weeks ago and finally decided to take advantage of that fact, meaning that Yang was forced to...

Come with her and buy the van.

The van that could carry their entire family once the children were finally born. It was just Blake and Yang today going shopping, and apparently not just for a van. Ruby and Weiss were both back at the house, being twenty-two weeks pregnant at this point and having horrible symptoms.

Blake let out a small laugh as she saw Yang's frustrated pout.

"Are you still upset that I took advantage of you lying to my wives so that I could force you into buying the only type of car that is safe for carrying up to eleven people, so that we can be safe with our babies?" Blake asked.

Yang rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, but it sounds much worse when you say it like that!" Yang cried.

Blake smirked and let out a quiet laugh, shaking her head.

"Oh, right, because the real problem is how it's phrased, not that you forgot your first anniversary."

"Hey! I fixed it!" Yang cried.

"Team JNIPRS fixed it."

"Because I got them to! I made sure that everything ended up great!"

" **I** made sure that everything ended up great by not telling Ruby and Weiss, making the anniversary free from the drama of you forgetting about it."

Yang huffed, her arms crossing closer to her chest. Blake grabbed onto one of them and gave her wife a small smile.

"Hey, maybe I'll forget all about this for the next year if you help me pick out the baby safety equipment," Blake said, purring just slightly.

"You can't make me less mad at you by purring."

Blake purred harder.

Yang hesitated.

"Alright. Maybe you can. But that doesn't mean you should," Yang relinquished, uncrossing her arms and grabbing Blake's hand in her own.

Blake just laughed and led her into the car dealership.

There was the chime of a bell, signaling that the front door had opened, and the two walked inside together.

A short man turned around, a wide smile on his face.

"Hi, how can I help," his speech slowed down and he glanced between the two women, "you..."

"We're looking to buy a...," Yang hesitated, grimacing. Blake elbowed her. "A van. We're looking to buy a van."

"We need at least eleven seats," Blake added.

"Eleven seats?" the man said, eyes widening.

"Yup," Yang said with a sigh, shaking her head slowly.

"And we were hoping for a bench front seat," Blake added.

"We are?" Yang said, glancing at her.

"Ruby doesn't want to be separated while we drive," the faunus replied.

"Doesn't want to be stranded in the back with the kids, you mean?" Yang offered.

"You might wanna be careful, or you'll be the one relegated to the back," Blake said.

"Hey! I thought I was the driver of this family!" Yang cried.

"Yeah, while Ruby and Weiss are pregnant. After that it's not always going to be you."

"It's not?"

"I **just** said that, Yang," Blake whispered, tilting her head toward the car dealer to remind Yang where they were and what was going on.

"Right, sorry. I still think it's weird my sister wants a bench front seat for all four of us."

"Are you really surprised?" Blake asked, raising an eyebrow and smirking at her wife.

Yang let out a laugh and shook her head.

"Not in the slightest."

In front of them, the car dealership man let out a sigh of relief, making both Yang and Blake look up at him, both raising an eyebrow.

"Sorry, when you started to talk about kids, I thought that maybe you two were... but-"

"Were what?" Blake asked, gripping Yang's hand tighter and leaning against her side while the blond wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Both clearly had the same idea.

"Uh, well," the man rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly while he look at the two of them, "I thought that maybe you two might be... together?"

"We are," Blake said dismissively, waving her hand in the air vaguely.

Yang **beamed**.

"Don't worry, Kit-Kat. The only reason he'd be surprised would be because you're so out of my league."

"I know."

Yang gaped at the faunus, who smirked just slightly at the blond and offered her a wink.

The car dealership man was staring at the two with wide eyes, making the two of them share a small look of smugness. They both held up their hands to showoff their wedding rings.

"But... your sister...," he trailed off.

Blake held in a laugh.

"Also my wife," the faunus said as if it was no big deal.

"Not mine," Yang added on, "but Weiss **is** our other wife, and I'm proud to say that she'll be in the front bench. Well, not so proud about having a front bench, but about her."

"You'll get used to the front bench, Honey."

"I don't want to," Yang all but whined.

"Too bad. Don't forget, I have information that you do **not** want me to share."

"I never would have taken your for a blackmailer."

"Even though you took my last name?" Blake added, smirking.

"Do not even mention that, and it's not just your last name, it's also Weiss'."

Blake waved her hand dismissively and turned to the car dealer.

"So, do you have any vans to show us?" she asked.

Two hours later, Blake was driving the two of them out of the car dealership in a large white van with fifteen seats (because what if they had to drive someone else around?!) and a bench front seat just big enough for all four of them.

"Finally!" Yang said loudly, stretching her legs out across the other two seats in the front bench with a wide grin. "That took **forever**!"

"Looks like someone's coming around on the bench seats," Blake said, smirking.

"But there's no **cup holders**!" Yang whined.

"There's cup holders in front of you, Honey," Blake said, rolling her eyes as she drove.

Yang hesitated, taking a moment to look at the front of the car and finding that there **were** in fact cup holders for her.

"Well, we still look like kidnappers in this thing."

Blake shrugged.

"Nothing we can do about that."

"We **could** be less fertile and have had two kids like we planned instead of seven."

Blake took her eyes off the road long enough to glance at Yang and raise a dubious eyebrow at her.

"You know that I'm kidding," Yang said with a sigh. She leaned over to put her head on Blake, but the faunus evaded her. "Aw, come on! You know I didn't mean it!" Blake shoved her away. "Fine! I'm sorry, happy now?"

"Very," Blake said, letting the blond curl up against her side.

Suddenly, Blake pulled into a parking stop, and Yang groaned.

"Did you forget that we were buying other things today?" Blake questioned, raising an eyebrow.

A beat of silence.

"Maybe?"

Blake rolled her eyes fondly and opened the door, letting Yang crawl out of the van behind her. Blake shut the door, locking it, and grabbed Yang by the hand before dragging her toward the store.

"What are we buying again?" Yang asked.

"Car seats, strollers, diapers, baby formul-"

"Baby stuff?"

"Yang, what else would we buying?"

"I don't know."

Blake laughed and rolled her eyes as they entered the store.

A few minutes later, Yang dashed toward Blake with a goofy smile.

"Hey! How about this one?!" she asked. Blake stared down at the car seat monstrosity, which was covered in various animals.

"Why?"

Yang hesitated.

"Because they're cute?"

"It's because you think that our faunus children would enjoy having animals on their car seats?" Blake asked dangerously.

"No?"

Blake sighed and rolled her eyes.

"No way are we getting those car seats."

"Because they have animals on them?" Yang offered.

"No, because they're not a recommended safety brand. We might as well strap our baby into the real seat!" Blake hissed.

A nearby man glanced at the faunus, then at the animal baby car seat in his hands, setting it down again and walking offf.

"Okay... how about this one?" Yang offered another car seat.

"How about you go and find some nice toys while I get the baby safety things?" Blake offered.

"Is it because I don't know which ones are the 'safety picks?'"

"Yes, that's exactly why, now go pick out some toys."

"Can they-"

"Yes, you can get some stuffed animals," Blake said with a suffering sigh and an eye roll.

Yang grinned and raced off to look at baby toys.

Blake watched her with a slightly fond smile before she turned back to the car seats.

A slightly older, and very pregnant woman, walked up beside Blake and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure that you want to have a child with... her?"

Blake glanced at the woman before she looked down the aisle to see where Yang was looking at baby toys, picking up several of them and staring at them with a childish excitement.

"Yeah, I'm sure. She's... she's the one. Or, well, one of the ones, but I'm pretty sure you don't want to hear about that," Blake said, grabbing one final car seat and grinning.

"Yang!" she called. "I found the right ones!"

"Really?!" the blond cried, dashing back toward the faunus and skidding to a stop, clutching countless baby toys in her hands.

"Yeah," Blake smiled at her gently. "Pick out the colors."

Yang considered for a moment before her eyes lit up in excitment.

"Get our colors!"

"The four of us?" Blake asked with a small, fond smile.

"Yeah!"

"Do we need all of those toys?" Blake asked.

"Definitely!"

Blake sighed and shook her head, grabbing three of the car seats, which she dropped into the shopping cart.

Yang grabbed the other four before she dumped them, and the toys, in as well.

"Did you happen to see any strollers?" Blake asked, slipping her hand into Yang's mechanical one as the blond pushed the shopping cart down the aisle.

"I did, but I didn't know which one you'd want."

"Were there any triplet ones?"

"Yeah! I even saw a four one!" Yang cried.

"Great," Blake said softly, her gaze falling on Yang as they walked slowly toward the strollers the blond had seen.

Yang glanced at her.

"What're you staring at?" the blond asked, looking a bit self conscious.

"You."

Yang raised an eyebrow, giving her a wink.

"Like what you see?"

"Always."

Yang grinned and leaned down, giving Blake a quick kiss before they continued down the aisle. Blake let out a content sigh, giving Yang's hand a squeeze.

"Oh! Can we get one those little baby carriers? You know, the ones that you can carry a baby on your chest with?"

Blake gave her wife a level look.

"Yang, we're about to be mothers to seven children."

Yang sighed.

"We need to get **multiple** of those, and the kind that lets you carry one on your chest **and** on your back!"

Yang let out a cheer and dashed off with Blake in tow.

-

Blake pulled back into the drive way and heard Yang groan.

"Do we have to carry all of these inside?"

"Everything but the car seats."

"Dust," the blond muttered.

"What'd I say about cursing?"

"Not to."

"That's right! Now help me carry all of this inside."

"Fine!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is Alea without her Aura! Anyone excited?


	82. Aura-Less

_Alea let herself be pulled to her feet and she leaned against Lexey, giving her shorter partner a wide smile._

_Lexey was taken aback by the expression. It wasn't a smirk like normal, but instead an_ **_actual_ ** _smile._

_"Is this how it always feels when your Aura breaks?" Alea asked, her eyes widening as she looked around with a sense of awe. Her teammates all stared at her innocent expression. "Wow, it's so weird..."_

_"Yeah, I mean, something like that. Except yours is probably different than most people considering your semblance is constantly on," Stacey said._

_Alea grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly._

_"That's a really good point. You're really smart, Stac."_

_Her teammates continued to watch her._

_She awkwardly glanced between the three._

_"Is... is there something on my face? Something wrong?"_

_Alea reached one hand up and ran it over her face before doing the same with her hair a moment later when she found nothing wrong with the first option. The three were shocked to see the familiar nervous tick from Alea performed so... differently. Where it was usually done with a wide, confident smirk and a slow hand through her hair... now it was an awkward (adorable) smile and a quick pass through the strands._

_"Oh my dust," Terresa muttered._

_"What?" Alea asked, her blue eyes darting to where Lexey and Stacey stood, but they were still giving her that weird expression that Alea had never been able to decode._

_"So when she loses her Aura, she's not seductive she's-"_

_"The cutest thing you've ever seen?" Lexey offered, cutting Terresa off._

_"Exactly," Terresa finished._

_"What?" Alea asked, her head tilting to the side in confusion, an adorable smile growing across her lips as she tried to understand what was going on._

_"I finally get it! If I acted like that, I'd be confused why everyone told me I was a flirt!" Stacey cried, throwing her hands in the air. "She looks like a puppy!"_

_"I do?" Alea asked, her head tilting to the side even further._

_"An adorable little blond puppy. Especially with the head tilt," Terresa added, staring at Alea with a grin._

_"How is she still irresistible?!" Lexey hissed to Stacey quietly._

_The other girl was about to respond, but she found herself distracted as Lexey's front was pushed up against her as she whispered._

_"Stac?" Lexey questioned, leaning even closer._

_"I... I don't know, Lex. She's just...," Stacey could hardly think about Alea as she felt Lexey so closer._

_Thankfully for her, Lexey didn't seem to notice._

_"Yeah, she really is just so...," Lexey trailed off and glanced at Alea with a small grin on her face._

_Terresa suddenly grimaced and reached her hand down to her side._

_Alea pulled away from Lexey and set her hands gently on Terresa's waist as she leaned closer to look at the wound._

_Terresa was shocked to see the genuinely innocent and concerned look on Alea's face._

_"Does it hurt?" the team leader asked quietly, moving closer._

_"Yeah, a little," Terresa said, breathless as Alea pulled her gently into her arms, running her fingers softly over the wound, sending a shiver up Terresa's spine._

_Terresa couldn't believe that even in her puppy, Aura-less form, Alea was still able to seem so... well, as Lexey had put it, irresistible._

_"Seriously, how is this fair?!" Terresa groaned as Alea set her head on top of her own, pulling Terresa in for a hug._

_"Don't worry, we'll get you back to the dorm room and take care of you," the team leader said, clearly not understanding why Terresa was so frustrated._

_"I don't know," Lexey said, shaking her head._

_Stacey took a step forward out of Lexey's arms, making Lexey frown in confusion as she watched her go._

_"It's just not."_

_Alea shrugged and stooped down, grabbing Terresa by the back of her knees._

_"Hey," Terresa hated how hard her heart was beating, and she was almost scared that Alea could hear it from where she stood, "what're you doin-AH!"_

_Alea scooped Terresa into the air, holding up in the air in a gentle bridal carry._

_Terresa flushed and wiggled in her arms._

_"Hey, you don't have to carry me, seriously, you can put me down-"_

_Alea silenced her with a fond smile and a shake of the head._

_"Don't worry, Ter. I've got you."_

_Those words, which usually would have been accompanied with a smirk and a suggestive look in Alea's eyes, were partnered with an innocent smile and a gentle look in her eyes._

_"Is this seriously how she thinks she's acting all the time?" Stacey hissed._

_"I guess," Lexey replied, watching their girlfriend as she carried Terresa out of the room._

_"Can you get the door, Lex?" Alea asked with a wide smile. It wasn't accompanied with the usual force of her Aura, making them feel pushed to do as she asked, but instead just an innocent puppy look._

_Despite her semblance not being active, Lexey scrambled and pulled open the door so that her teammates could step outside._

_Alea beamed at her and carried Terresa out of the room with ease, despite her Aura being broken._

_Stacey turned to see Pyrrha staring at the four of them with shock._

_With the rest of team ATLS outside, Stacey found its safe to speak to the other woman without them hearing._

_"I guess it's not just her semblance that makes her stand out in a room. Some people are just like that," Stacey said, eyes growing softer and her expression turning fond._

_"Maybe her semblance just magnified that," Pyrrha offered, picking up on how Stacey felt about her team leader easily._

_"Yeah, maybe," Stacey agreed._

_She stepped out of the classroom and hurried after her teammates down the hall._

_She saw that Alea looked a little confused as the crowd of people pushed past her, not seeming to realize that that was what normally happened to people in large groups, especially in the hallways._

_Alea pulled Terresa closer to her chest protectively, leaning down a significant way so that she could whisper into Lexey's ear._

_"Why is everyone being so rude today."_

_Terresa reaches her hand up so that she could play with the collar of Alea's coat, making the team leader blush, a peculiar look for her that made all three of her teammates stare at her, unused to seeing her face turn red._

_"Uh, Ter, what... hehe, that tickles," she said, squirming as Terresa continued to mess with her coat._

_"Everyone's being rude today because that's how they act_ **_everyday_ ** _, Love. Nobody acts nice in the halls," Terresa said._

_"That's not true," Alea replied, frowning just slightly at the other girl._

_"Yes, it is, nobody's nice in the halls," Lexey said gently._

_"But everyone's so sweet when I go through the halls!" Alea said, thinking of how everyone always parted for each other when they passed through the halls. How she would get high fives and send winks and... "Oh my dust," Alea breathed. "That's a side effect of the Aura isn't it!?"_

_"Aw, she's always so cute when she figures things out!" Terresa said, reaching her hand up to run her hand over Alea's face._

_The team leader flushed lightly and shook her head._

_"Hehe, uh, well... thanks?"_

_"Aw, she looks so confused," Lexey added._

_"How did we ever think **that** look was seductive?" Stacey asked, rolling her eyes as she looked at her girlfriend's innocent expression. Despite her words, she still had a mental image of the team leader giving her a smirk during her awkward words._

_She still found her usual expression seductive._

_"I know ri-" Alea cut off suddenly, her face flushing yet again. "Wait, did she just say seductive?" she whispered to Terresa and Lexey, who both laughed. "Did you say seductive?"_

_Stacey blushed this time and shook her head._

_"No! Well, I mean... I... technically speaking, yes."_

_Alea flushed._

_"Does it... look different from before right now? Or does it look the same but you react differently?" Alea asked awkwardly._

_"Oh it definitely looks different," Terresa said dismissively._

_"Is that... good?" Alea asked awkwardly._

_Stacey rolled her eyes._

_"Dust, how does she go from the biggest flirt in school to an **actual** puppy?!"_

_"Do you not... like it?" Alea questioned softly._

_Stacey huffed and hurried forward to put herself in front of Alea, stopping her from continuing to walk forward._

_Stacey reached her hands up to grab Alea's face in her hands, leaning forward over Terresa, who was still in the team leader's arms. Terresa sucked in a breath of surprise as Stacey brushed up against her, but her partner didn't seem to notice that she was there._

_"Listen, Al. I love you both ways. I love the flirtatious but innocent version of you, but I also love the sweet and puppy version of you. I don't care which you act like, which you look like, because deep down it's still you, and I'm sure that both of our teammates feel the exact same. That's because we didn't fall for your flirting or your charm, we fell for the awkward and sweet **real** you of you **underneath** that."_

_Alea sniffled, her face turning red underneath Stacey's hands. Stacey could feel the heat underneath them, and it made her blush as well._

_"Aw, Stac, that's the sweetest thing I've ever heard you say!" Alea cried, moving her arms as if she wanted to grab Stacey in a tight hug, but she stopped when Terresa let out a quiet sound of shock, grip around the team leader's neck._

_Stacey giggled, which was obviously quite out of character for her and made all three of her teammates look at her with the same expression, and leaned closer to her team leader._

_"I'm glad you liked it, because that's the only sweet thing you get from me from the next ten months."_

_"Aw, but you're such a sweetheart," Alea said with a small pout on her face._

_Stacey flushed and closed the distance between the two of them, giving her a quick kiss._

_Alea grinned against her lips, leaning closer._

_Lexey started to giggle as she watched Terresa looking up at the two awkwardly, a small blush on her face. Terresa was shocked to find that she wasn't exactly certain **who** she was jealous of. It was a weird feeling, made only more so considering Alea was still holding her as the two kissed above her._

_Lexey quieted her laughter and shook her head fondly._

_"Hey, Al, when you have your Aura back, I'm sure you can stop in the hallway and make out all the time, in fact I know you do because it's amazing, but as it is with your Aura broken you're blocking some very irritated students," Lexey said._

_Alea pulled back, flushing just a bit as she looked over at the other members of her team._

_"Right... Right! Sorry! I got a little distracting. You're very distracting, Stac."_

_Stacey didn't know how that sentence made her blush, having come from a beaming puppy-like version of her girlfriend, but it did._

_"Yuck, don't do that again when I'm in your arms," Terresa said, but Lexey could tell there was a slight shaking to her voice that Stacey and Alea didn't catch._

_"Sorry, hon!" Alea said as she hurried back toward the dorm room._

_When they stepped inside, Alea gently set her girlfriend down on her bed and leaned over her worriedly._

_"Are you feeling better? Do you need anything? Maybe some water or food or-"_

_"Dear Dust just shut up," Terresa muttered, reaching up so that she could grab Alea by the collar of her shirt, tugging her down so she could get a long kiss._

_Stacey looked away, a light blush on her face._

_Lexey smirked just slightly, her mind whirling with plans that she had abandoned after having started dating their team leader..._

_But if she could get Terresa and Stacey to date as well, that'd leave more time for just her and Alea..._

_And yet there was something about the idea of her other two teammates that made her feel a bit uncomfortable. She pushed by that, focusing on her team leader._

_When Terresa finally let Alea go, having wrapped her arms around her neck and grabbed the tie from her uniform while refusing to let the other girl have any distance between them, Alea took a slow breath in. Terresa gaped at her, gasping for air._

_"Okay seriously is your real semblance having infinite oxygen?!" Terresa hissed when she had enough air to breathe._

_"I know right?" Lexey said, smirking at their team leader._

_"What are you talking about?" Alea asked. "I'm out of breath."_

_"Al, sweetie, you're breathing normally," Lexey said. "Look at Terresa! She's turning blue!"_

_"She's right. I'm a blue person now."_

_Alea frowned in confusion._

_"She is... kind of gasping... did I do something wrong?" Alea asked._

_"Dear dust how can she be so good at so many things without even knowing what she's doing?!" Stacey cried, throwing her hands up in the air._

_"My semblance?" Alea offered, tilting her head to the side just a bit in confusion._

_"Your Aura is broken, so it can't even be that!" Stacey cried, her hands still waving unruly above her head. "You're just so... great, but you don't even know it?!"_

_Alea blushed and looked over to Lexey and Terresa for help, but they both just laughed._

_"Thank you?" Alea asked slowly._

_Stacey just growled._

_Alea shrugged and turned back to Terresa, who was finally catching her breath._

_There was a beat of silence in the room before it was, once again, filled with laughter from everyone except the confused team leader._

_-_

_Alea laid against the bed, Lexey on one of her shoulders while Terresa was curled up against her other side. Stacey was beside Lexey, blushing. Lexey was considering how she could get Terresa to lay beside Stacey, not noticing how her teammate was slowly inching her arm closer to wrapping around her waist._

_"How long does a broken Aura usually last?" Alea asked, running her hand through Stacey's hair idly while she spoke._

_"Well, it all depends. Kind of hard to guess," Lexey said._

_Stacey finally set her hand on Lexey's waist, causing the latter girl to glance at her._

_Stacey blushed just slightly, starting to pull away from her, but Lexey caught her hand, smiling and pulling her closer._

_Stacey smiled and let her head land on Lexey's shoulder._

_"I miss it," Alea muttered, frowning._

_"I like Aura-less you. It's super cute," Lexey said._

_"Plus, you still deserve this, considering you broke **all** of our Auras," Stacey muttered._

_"I don't agree with her often, so when I say she's right, you **know** she is," Terresa said, reaching one arm across both Lexey and Alea and holding it out in a fist._

_Stacey hesitated, considering, before she tentatively raised her hand and bumped her own fist against Terresa's._

_"Hey! Stacey just gave me a fist bump! That's the first time!" Terresa cried._

_"Who are you and what have you done with my favorite Stacey?" Lexey asked, grinning at her teammate._

_"Calm down," Stacey said, rolling her eyes with a small smile on her lips, accompanied by a blush that she would never admit was there if anyone ever asked. In fact, she'd stab anyone that even dared to question her and the redness that was **not** on her face!_

_"Do you want to break my Aura more often?" Alea asked, leaning down to give Lexey a small, kind smile._

_"Maybe!" Lexey said._

_"Heck yeah!" Terresa cried._

_Alea suddenly began to glow a bright blue, Aura already back._

_"Then you should fight better so that I can't beat all three of you once."_

_Terresa smacked her._


	83. The Movie (1/2)

_"The following documentary is based entirely on real facts about the war against the shadow and its ruler, Sallem."_

"Did... did it spell Salem with two l's?" Blake asked.

Ruby shushed her.

"Just watch the movie, Blakey!" she whispered.

"It already looks wrong."

Weiss reached over and covered the cat faunus' mouth with her hand.

"Isn't it a bad idea to watch a documentary about ourselves?" Ren offered. "It can't be completely accurate or flattering."

Nora put her hand on Ren's mouth now, giving Weiss a grin as she saw the pregnant woman doing the same with her wife.

_The documentary opened up with an image of four girls that looked just **vaguely** similar to team RWBY, although Blake had a sinking suspicion that the cat ears on her actress' head were **not** real. The idea made her very realcat ears flicker irritably._

_The four girls were shown in four separate shots, playing next to one another as they each walked toward the school from different vantages. It was painful to watch as Ruby and Yang's bled together._

_"Oh, sis, I am **so** excited to finally start going to school!" the movie Ruby cried, grabbing Yang's hand and squeezing it._

_Ruby and Yang glanced at one another, sharing a disgusted look at their interactions on screen._

_"I still can't believe that you got to come to school with me even though you're two years younger!" Yang's actress spoke too loud, and Blake's ears twitched irritably at the noise._

_"I know!" Ruby's actress called._

_"I know, but I gotta go!" Yang's actress cried, her old friends unceremoniously appearing at her side before they disappeared._

_"Wait! Don't leave me!" fake Ruby called, reaching a hand desperately after her sister._

"Okay, that's actually kind of what happened," the real Ruby said, giving her sister a small smirk as she leaned against Weiss.

"Hey! I've gotten better!" Yang cried, earning a laugh from Weiss. "Hey, you have nothing to laugh at, Ice Queen!"

Weiss huffed, crossing her arms.

"Dust, even marrying you isn't enough to get you to forget about that?" the former heiress asked, huffing.

"Nothing will **ever** make me forget about that."

Weiss shushed them and turned back to the documentary as an explosion sounded.

_"Hey, you dolt, watch where you're going! You could have killed us both!"_

_Ruby's actress scrambled to her feet and gave Weiss' an apologetic smile._

_Fake Weiss sniffed irritably, crossing her arms and tapping her foot angrily._

_"Here!" she snapped, shoving a pamphlet toward Ruby for her to read._

_"What?!" Ruby's actress cried in confusion while Weiss' started to recite the words verbatim._

"That's surprisingly accurate too," real Ruby said, beaming.

Weiss smacked her arm.

"Hey! Don't hit my pregnant wife!" Blake hissed.

"I'm your pregnant wife!" Weiss whispered.

"So's she!" Blake said, grinning.

Nora shushed both of them while Blake reached out to grab Yang, pulling all three of her wives closer. She tried to take her thoughts off of Weiss and Ruby both being, at this point, twenty-five weeks pregnant. It was a terrifying point in the pregnancy, and the birth was starting to sneak up on them, which made Blake almost tremble at the very thought.

She focused on the movie.

-

_The four girls were now in the forest partnering up, and everything had been surprisingly accurate!_

_Team JNPR had already appeared a bit in the background_ (although Jaune and Nora both grumbled at team RWBY being the stars of the documentary) _and partnered up like they had in real life._

_Time skipped around a bit with a historically accurate, if horribly written, story._

_Everything was great until they got to the second semester of Beacon. The real team RWBY seemed excited at the beginning, knowing that this was when they had started to develop feelings for one another, and it would be great to see that on screen!_

_But... things went south **very** quickly for the four of them._

_When Blake was supposed to be realizing her feelings for her three teammates_ (very late, as her wives would always say whenever it was brought up, consistently making the faunus sigh in frustration) _, she was suddenly sitting in a classroom with Yang, giving the blond a shy smile as she played with her hair._

"I do **not** do that," the real Blake said, rolling her eyes.

"Wait, are they making you and I get together instead of our entire team?! That's insane!" Yang hissed.

There were several shushes from the other people in the room directed toward team RWBY.

_"Something's bothering you, Kitty," Yang's actress said._

"What?! You don't call me kitty!" Blake hissed. "That's racist!"

Yang and Weiss both put their hands over the faunus' mouth this time.

_"Yeah, something's bothering me, I guess," Blake's actress said, continuing to smile and play with her hair._

_"Well spill!" Yang's actress said overeagerly._

_"I... I think I'm in love with Sun."_

There was a beat of silence in the room before several cries of outrage rang out.

"WHAT?!" Weiss shrieked, already pushing herself to her feet with a dangerous glint in her eyes.

Blake shoved Yang's hand off of her mouth, the blond in a state of shock and unable to say anything as she watched the movie in disbelief.

"I'm in **what** with Sun?!" Blake hissed, grabbing Weiss' hand in her own to stop the pregnant woman from racing off to stab Sun.

Ilia had pushed herself to her feet as well, gaze landing on Blake.

"Did you used to have feelings for Sun?" she hissed at the cat faunus, who shook her head hurriedly.

"What? Of course she didn't!" Weiss cried, looking to her wife.

Blake hesitated.

Silence filled the room, and even Pyrrha turned her attention to the faunus, raising an eyebrow and glancing at Sun just for a moment.

Sun was gaping at Blake.

"Okay, maybe for just like... a week! That's it! I thought I **might** have a crush on him, but then a week later I realized that I was in love with you three!" Blake cried, gesturing toward her wives.

"I can't believe it!" Sun cried, throwing his hands up in the air. "Why didn't you tell me when I had feelings for you?!" Pyrrha and Ilia both stared at him. "I mean, not that I care, just... just wondering! I would have cared back then but not now! Now it's just weird. I mean I'm in love with tese two wonderful women and I'm a two woman man, not three!"

Ilia crossed her arms with a mixture of smugness and hesitance, as if wondering if her boyfriend had truly meant what he said.

Sun put his hand on hers and dragged her back toward the chairs so that the other faunus could sit in between him and Pyrrha.

Weiss growled and was about to speak, but suddenly Nora was shrieking at the top of her lungs, staring at the screen.

Her friends quickly looked at the television to find that Jaune was staring at Pyrrha with a loving look in his eyes.

"No! No way! They are **not** stealing my boyfriend and putting him with **Pyrrha**!" Nora screamed, grabbing her knight boyfriend and holding his hand tightly in her own.

Ilia suddenly threw her hands into the air, growling.

"Oh, they **better** fix this when I get kidnapped-"

"Apprehended for entirely legal reasons because you were trying to kidnap my future wife," Weiss interrupted, but Ilia didn't pay her any attention.

"-or I'm **raging**! What, am I not good enough for **either** of my partners?!" she cried.

Pyrrha saw the look of fear on her face and reached out, pulling Ilia into her lap. Sun joined in excitedly, leaping over and landing on top of Pyrrha as well. Pyrrha let out a small sound of shock, but didn't say anything to stop the monkey faunus as he wrapped his arms around Ilia gently, putting his head on her shoulder.

"Of course you're good enough for us," Pyrrha whispered.

"Yeah, we've **talked** about this, Ils!" Sun whispered, pulling the other faunus closer and setting a gentle kiss on top of her head.

"Hey! Ilia's getting kidnapped!" Nora cheered.

"Rightfully apprehended," Weiss corrected again, sniffing irritably as she leaned back against Ruby.

 _Ilia skulked through the shadows for a long moment, trailing after Blake, who was talking to herself in a dark alleyway and giving a loud monologue about her feelings for Sun_ (Weiss screamed, but her mouth was covered by Yang's hand).

_Ilia leapt from the shadows and changed colors as she slammed against the actress version of Blake, taking them both to the ground. As Ilia, literally, revealed her true colors on screen, the chameleon faunus let out a loud war cry._

_"You're **mine**!"_

"I didn't say that," the real Ilia muttered to herself, falling back against Pyrrha, who started to rub her arm gently.

Sun undid the chameleon's faunus hair, making her protest for a moment before he began to run his fingers through her hair. He grabbed the ponytail she had had in her hair and put it on his wrist.

"Are you going to do her **hair**?" Nora asked, raising an eyebrow at the monkey faunus.

"Yeah, what's your point?" Sun asked, continuing to run his fingers through her hair.

"Why do you know how to do that?"

"What's wrong with a man knowing how to put up women's hair?" Sun asked, sounding slightly defensive.

Everyone turned to stare at him while team RWBY took out Ilia on screen, tying her up and carrying her toward Beacon.

"Okay, I hear it," Sun said, holding up his hands to defend himself. Ilia mumbled and pulled his hands back to her hair, which he continued to brush delicately afterward. "But it's not that weird that I know how to do this, I swear! Think about it, guys, both of my girlfriends have super beautiful ponytails and I have to help them **sometimes**! Not to mention the fact that I'm a lesbro, which means I come fully equipped with all the knowledge that I might need to help disaster lesbians. Like Yang."

The blond let out a growl, but Sun pulled a hair tie out of his pocket and shot it toward Yang, hitting her in the face. She cried out in shock while Sun high fived Ilia.

_Meanwhile, on screen, Ilia was seated on the floor, looking up at team JNPR and RWBY as they attempted to get information from her._

_Jaune's actor suddenly ran a hand through his hair dramatically_ (Nora, real Nora, snorted at the effect, noting that the movie version of her boyfriend had been far more smooth and well put together with women than he had **ever** been in real life as well as being more charming).

_"She's never gonna tell us," Jaune's actor said._

_Ilia's actress sat on the floor, her gaze shooting to team JNPR's leader, eyes widening. Her scales suddenly turned red._

"No way," Sun breathed.

_"Maybe you should try," Nora's actress offered, shoving the movie version of Jaune forward toward the chameleon faunus, who watched him._

"Don't tell me," Pyrrha whispered, putting her hand on Sun's shoulder as they both pulled Ilia closer to themselves.

_Jaune sat down beside Ilia in the movie, both of them staring at one another, inches apart._

_"Okay, I'll tell you everything," the fake Ilia said, breathless._

"OH COME ON!" real Ilia shouted, throwing her hands up in the air in disbelief. "First of all, I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH JAUNE!" the team leader choked on his own spit while Nora clapped him on the back. "AND SECOND, I DIDN'T JUST SPILL EVERYTHING BECAUSE OF A PRETTY FACE!"

There was a beat of silence as Ilia glanced at her girlfriend, who stared at her awkwardly.

"Of course you didn't," Pyrrha said, but her response was a moment too late.

"I didn't!" Ilia snapped, her voice rising a few octaves as her scales started to turn a bright shade of red.

Blake snickered.

"You kind of did," the cat faunus said.

"Kind of?!" Nora cried. "She was totally head over heels for Pyrrha the moment she saw her and that's why she changed sides."

Ilia's scales changed colors, turning impossibly redder. Sun slapped his tail over his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud.

"I'm sure you didn't," Sun said, after he was able to stop himself.

Ilia buried her face in the monkey faunus' chest, feeling his hands continue to run through her fingers, starting to braid it. He only did that when she was upset and knew that Ilia wanted him to keep the contact.

"I didn't, right, babe?" Ilia mumbled into Sun's chest, but her words were clearly directed toward Pyrrha.

"Of course not!"

"You're lying," Ilia muttered, shaking her head as Sun continued to do her hair.

"Of course I'm not!" Pyrrha cried.

"Babe, you really have to work on lying. I told you your voice rises like five octaves," Sun said, giving Pyrrha a sympathetic look as he patted her knee.

"We're all missing the point! Somehow I'm in a love triangle with Pyrrha, which is accurate considering she had a crush on Jaune for a while," Ilia started, "but somehow we're both supposed to like **him**?! Sun's the only guy I've **ever** had a crush on!"

"Hush, we're missing it!" Weiss hissed.

They all turned to watch the movie.

 _"Sun, I'm in love with you!" Blake said dramatically on screen._ (The real Blake groan and shook her head. "I'm not that dramatic," she muttered. Yang snickered. "You kind of are." Blake elbowed her).

_Sun stared down at her in a dramatically long pause._

_"I love you too."_

_Another long pause._

_"But we can never be together!" he cried dramatically._

("BECAUSE SHE'S OUR WIFE AND FUTURE MOTHER OF OUR CHILDREN!" Weiss screamed, only stopping when Yang grabbed her and pulled her back so that she could sit back down.)

_Blake stared up at him._

_"But why?!" she cried._

_"Because...," Sun paused dramatically._

_Before he could finish, there was an explosion, and they both shared a look before the shot off toward the fighting._

_/_

_Winter's actress raised across the battle field and skidded to a stop in front of Penny._

_"Stop! I can't let you kill her because I l-"_

_Winter was cut off as she was struck in the back of the head by random rubble._

/

Real Winter growled and pulled Penny closer to her.

_/_

_Ilia, Jaune, and Pyrrha walked through the halls underneath the vault and raced toward where they were supposed to meet the headmaster._

(Oscar still found it weird to be watching the movie with Ozpin in it).

_"Jaune, there's something I need to tell you," Pyrrha said dramatically. "I love you."_

_Ilia watched the whole thing with a dramatic look on her face, as if she was struggling to keep her mouth shut._

_"So do I... but I'm also in love with Ilia!" Jaune cried._

("DUST DAMN LIES!" the real Ilia shouted).

_"We don't have time for this," Ilia's actress snapped, shoving Pyrrha toward the chamber._

_"Pyrrha, Ilia, I-"_

_Ilia cut Jaune off._

_"I don't love you," Ilia said. "If... **when** she gets out of there... you're going to make her the happiest woman in the world."_

(Real Pyrrha was crying, and so was Sun. "You've always been so selfless. That's the only thing they've gotten right," Pyrrha muttered, holding Ilia far too tightly. Ilia let out a sigh of content as she leaned further into the embrace).

_The scene ends with a tearful kiss between Jaune and the new Maiden Pyrrha while Ilia watched in the background, holding her emotions back._

_/_

_The next scene of the documentary, quite possibly, the most absurd they'd seen. There had been many forced heterosexual relationships... but the worst **had** to be after Coco had complimented Velvet for how well she'd done during the fall of Beacon..._

_Only for Velvet to give her a quick smile before turning to embrace Yatsu. The two shared a dramatic kiss that kept the room outside of the movie completely silent. But it got worse-better._

_Coco turned and grabbed Fox by his shirt collar, pulling him forward and kissing him soundly._

"WHAT?!" Coco finally screamed, having just found her voice.

There had been no buildup for the two relationships, but Velvet and Coco had been spending too much time together during the movie with too much romantic tension (apparently even when the writers were avidly trying not to have any same-sex relationships they couldn't keep the underlying tension between Velvet and Coco out of it), so they had to make sure that the audience **knew** that their characters were straight.

"This is... I'm suing!" Coco cried, throwing something across the room so quickly that nobody could tell what it was.

"What are you suing for, baby?" Velvet asked, trying to keep her voice soothing as she grabbed her soon-to-be wife's hand in her own.

"Making me look straight!" Coco shouted. "That's... that's character defamation! I'm suing for character defamation!"

Velvet couldn't stop herself from snorting, but she slapped a hand over her mouth afterwards in an attempt to silence the sound.

Coco glanced over at her and gave her a small smile despite her anger.

"That was so gross. I didn't even see it, but it was gross," Fox muttered.

Yatsu gently patted him on the thigh.

"It's alright."

Coco growled.

"It was **not** alright!" she cried, reaching out to grab her soon-to-be wife's hand and pulling her closer, placing a small kiss on the crest of her head.

"It **was** a little weird," Velvet said, wrapping her arms around Coco's waist while the fashionista started to do the same around her neck.

"More than a little, Honeybun."

Weiss shushed them.

Blake pulled the former heiress closer, shaking her head.

She couldn't believe that the documentary had gotten **so much** wrong! So many relationships, details, and integral parts of the story's lore were completely wrong, portrayed in ways that could **only** be described as _purposefully opposite_ to the truth.

She could only imagine what other horrors they would have to endure as they continued the story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cut in half cause it's over 3k words sorry


	84. Truth Revealed

_Alea let out a sigh of frustration as she watched two of teammates, and girlfriends, arguing with one another._

_It wasn't hard to guess who it was, considering, as Lexey put it "those two girls either need to kiss or cut each other's heads off, because they **definitely** can't sustain a friendship."_

_Despite the truth to Lexey's words, Alea had been able to keep the two from fighting too much through the use of her semblance. Now that she knew what it was, she was capable of utilizing it to its full extent._

_/_

_Terresa shoved Stacey, giving her a scowl as she went to push past her._

_"What's your problem with me?!" Terresa growled._

_"What **isn't** my problem with you?!" Stacey replied with a low, dangerous quality to her voice as she pulled out he swatons._

_"Hey, hey, how about we all take a step back and calm down," Lexey offered._

_Stacey and Terresa both hesitated for a moment, glancing at Lexey before sharing a look with each other. When their gazes met, both suddenly flushed and glared at one another, immediately forgetting what Lexey had said._

_"Lexey's right," Alea said, pushing herself to her feet and walking toward the pair with a confident stride that even Alea herself wasn't aware how to do when she didn't have her Aura. It seemed like a mix between a stalking panther looking for its prey or its mate. Either way, her teammates all glanced at her. Alea pressed her semblance and let her presence become almost overwhelming for her girlfriends. "How about we all calm down and have a seat."_

_Terresa and Stacey both stared at their team leader for a moment, trying to remember why they were fighting her will, what she had said._

_Alea flared her semblance a bit more, setting one hand on Terresa's shoulder._

_The woman instantly melted and fell against her side with a loving look in her gaze._

_Alea gave her a smirk and turned her attention to Stacey, who had her arms crossed against her chest. She was looking at literally **anywhere** but Alea._

_"You can't calm me down with your semblance and a few kind words," Stacey said, but she had to force herself not to at Alea as the team leader took a step toward her._

_"I'm sure, because you're a very strong willed woman. I love that about you."_

_Stacey hesitated, her face flooding with heat as she took a hurried step backward from Alea. Despite distancing herself from the other girl, Stacey knew that she had just lost, despite it not having ended. The moment she showed any weakness to the other girl's semblance, it was the moment that Alea, and both herself **and** her semblance, had gained the upper hand and would be able to win._

_Alea smirked, clearly knowing that as well, and stepped forward, putting her hand on Stacey's arm._

_"Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?" Alea asked._

_Stacey let out a sigh, turning to face her girlfriend with a small smile that she had been fighting for the past few minutes._

_"Always."_

_/_

_Alea sighed. She was tired of this! She needed to make sure that the two finally got it over with (whether it culminated with a spar or a kiss), and soon. It was getting frustrating to watch the two dance around one another, and clearly Lexey felt the same, considering she was more than willing to help._

_"How do we do this?" Alea asked, leaning down so that she could whisper in the other girl's ear._

_"Easy! You just flare your semblance as high as you can!"_

_Alea frowned, tilting her head to the side slightly in confusion._

_"Just trust me."_

_"Is that really... morally okay?"_

_Lexey held in a sigh._

_"Lying is wrong, right?"_

_Alea nodded._

_"And lying is defined by not telling the truth, isn't it?"_

_Alea nodded again._

_"So if Terresa and Stacey aren't telling each other the truth, they're lying, right?"_

_"I... guess?" Alea said slowly._

_"And lying is wrong, isn't it?"_

_Alea nodded once more._

_"Then it's our moral duty to make them tell the truth because lying is wrong, right?"_

_Alea's face scrunched up in confusion slightly as she thought through the words._

_"I... I guess?"_

_Lexey positively **beamed**._

_"Did Stacey teach you how to do that?" Alea asked._

_"Yes."_

_"That's so mean of her. You used to be the sweet, innocent one," Alea said._

_"You were **always** the sweet and innocent one, we all know that now."_

_Alea let out a giggle that was interpreted as a chuckle._

_"That's not true. You three seemed to think I was some crazy lady killer that wanted to seduce you all into this relationship so I could have as many women as possible," Alea said._

_"But you were always secretly a cute little puppy underneath."_

_Alea flushed and pulled her closer._

_"So tell me about this plan of yours."_

_/_

_Stacey didn't like this plan that Alea and Lexey had concocted. Not one bit._

_"Alea Alissa Ajax, I swear by the Dust if you do this I'm dumping you!" she growled through gritted teeth._

_Alea flared her semblance as high as she could, feeling Lexey grab her in a tight hug. The use of her semblance like this always drained her Aura._

_"Will you really?" Alea asked, looking intimidating and almost terrifying to her teammates as she spoke._

_"No," Stacy breathed._

_Alea grinned excitedly, but it transformed into a smug, knowing smirk just as it was about to grace her features. It even seemed intimidating._

_"I think that it would be best if everyone in this room decided to be honest with one another and myself."  
_

_Despite the words being a suggestion, nobody in the room took them as anything but orders._

_"I think that's a bad idea," Stacey said instantly. She looked away from Alea. "And I think that you're taking advantage of our relationship and your semblance."_

_"You tried to use your ability to turn invisible to roundhouse kick me in the face yesterday," Alea said, voice monotone._

_"To test if your semblance would work with-" Stacey cut off as Alea flared her semblance even more. "Fine! I wanted to see if I could kick you when I was invisible because I'm still made at you for beating us all up."_

_Lexey snickered.  
_

_"Now tell me what's going on with you two lately," Alea said, gesturing at her girlfriends._

_Lexey subtly moved backward so that she wasn't in the gesture width._

_"There's a lot of things that are happening," Stacey said slowly, clearly forced._

_"Are you into each other?" Lexey asked._

_A beat of silence._

_"Answer her," Alea said._

_"Into each other how?" Terresa said, looking anywhere but at her girlfriend and teammates._

_Logically, she knew that she could just run away out the door. She also knew that it was possible to force her will against Alea's, although that was difficult and draining, but both of those options weren't viable. As soon as the interrogation had began, both her and Stacey were caught in a game of chicken. If they ran, then the other would figure out exactly how the other felt about them, and neither were ready to let themselves be exposed in such a way._

_"Romantically."_

_Both flushed._

_Stacey crossed her arms closer to her chest, something she did when she was nervous._

_"W-why would I **ever** be interested in Terresa in... in that way? She's pretty much my polar opposite. She's messy, rude, brash, doesn't care about the rules and-" Alea was tired of hearing her girlfriend insult her other girlfriend, and finally flared her semblance to as far as it could go. Lexey grabbed her. "-and I don't know why but I think I'm in love with her and I'm really sorry because I tried not to be but-"_

_Terresa cut her off immediately, eyes wide with disbelief as she gaped at her teammate._

_"Wait, you're in love with me?!"_

_Stacey flushed._

_"That's great! I mean, yeah, you're like the complete anti-me. Like if there was an alternate universe with opposite me would be **exactly** you. But what I'm trying to say is that... I love you too!"_

_Alea let out a whoop, and the two stared at her, panicked._

_"Al, I'm really sorry but-"_

_Alea laughed and cut Terresa off._

_"Are you trying to apologize to your girlfriend for having feelings for her other girlfriend?"_

_A beat of silence._

_"Yes?" they both said together._

_"Well don't be! I've been waiting for you two to finally admit it **forever**!" Alea cheered. "Oh, I'm so happy for you two!"_

_Terresa glanced at Stacey, eyes landing on her lips for a moment as she considered closing the distance... she suddenly noticed that Stacey was staring at her as well._

_"As much as I really want you two to finally kiss, I need to ask... is there anything else you feel?'_

_Lexey's eyes shot to Alea, suddenly panicked as she felt the team leader's semblance pushing against her more so than before, as if focusing on including her like before._

_"Romantically, I mean," Alea said._

_"For each other? How?" Terresa asked, reaching over and shyly prodding Stacey's fingers with her own._

_Stacey flushed and let her partner connect their hands, threading their fingers together._

_Alea grinned at the sight._

_"I meant for... maybe someone else?" Alea hinted, her eyes darting to Lexey, who flushed and clinched her jaw, knowing that she didn't have to remain silent forever, just not be the first to speak and hope that the team leader would turn off her flared semblance (or perhaps break her Aura) before she had to say anything._

_Stacey flushed and forced herself not to speak, already embarrassed for having confessed to one person first tonight and she would be **damned** if she did it again!_

_Terresa was confused on why she wanted to speak, and why the image of another woman filled her mind._

_"I LOVE YOU!" Lexey suddenly screamed, wincing as the words left her mouth. She slapped her hand over her mouth with shock. She'd forgotten that trying to rebel against Alea when her semblance was flared all the way could cause a person to burst if they failed. Her hand all but pried itself off her mouth. "I love you!" her voice was still loud, but slightly less so now. "All three of you! And I know that makes this awkward considering we're all dating Alea and now the two of you are dating and... dust I'm sorry but it just makes me so jealous! Do you know how much it sucks to be jealous of **two** people that are kissing?! Very!"_

_"I do!" Terresa suddenly cried. "Yes, it sucks, it's weird, especially when you don't know why, and... I love you too. I love you, Lex. How could I not? You're sweet and kind and not quite a puppy like Alea, but you're definitely adorable."_

_Lexey gaped at her, face flushing._

_Alea took a seat on the nearby bed, her vision swimming as her Aura drained incredibly swiftly. Nothing sucked up her Aura quite like trying to make people tell the truth._

_There was a beat of silence._

_"I love you too," Stacey suddenly said, her words coming out incredibly fast._

_A beat of silence as she struggled with her own thoughts and how to form cohesive sentences with them._

_"Lexey, I mean. I love you. Terresa's right, which, as you know, means something when we finally agree. You're kind and loyal and deceptively manipulative considering I think you set this whole thin up because Alea would never think this sort of thing up. I love you all."_

_Alea beamed and stopped flaring her semblance. She fell back against the bed, letting her eyes fall shut as she heard her three girlfriends finally take deep, freeing breaths._

_As they awkwardly moved toward one another to share their first kisses with each other, Alea smiled fondly as she drifted to sleep, hoping her Aura would recharge to full capacity soon._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go! Poly ATLS!


	85. The Movie (2/2)

_The train ride scene was filled with actor Jaune and actress Pyrrha awkwardly making out beside Coco and Fox and Yatsu and Velvet. The funniest part was that even as the two female members of team CFVY were making out with their boyfriends in the movie, their actresses were still lightly touching, hands on one another. Almost as if the two actresses somehow knew **that** was how the movie should have gone._

(Coco screamed and tried to destroy the screen, but Fox had promptly thrown Velvet at her, causing both of them to fall into a chair together. Fox smirked as Coco stayed seated, clearly not wanting to disrupt Velvet when she was resting in her lap).

_But that wasn't the only train ride fact that was wrong._

_The movie version of Neo was seated on the train across from Ciel and Penny, silently communicating with the girl across from her while Penny was distracted. There were subtitles underneath her sign language, which even Neo had to read because_ ( _'GORGEOUS THAT'S NOT REAL SIGN LANGUAGE! SHE'S JUST WAVING HER DAMN HANDS!'_ as Neo had signed aggressively to her wife, making it clear that it was meant to be in all caps).

_Neo's actress seemed slightly confused even on screen, her tone switching from flirtatious to friendly every sentence._

_For example, 'You're certainly a sight for sour eyes' was immediately followed by 'I've never had a sister.'_

("Wait, wait, wait, I need a moment to comprehend this," Ciel said, pausing the movie as she looked at Neo. "Are they trying to make my wife and I be portrayed as **sisters**?" When Neo had nodded angrily, Ciel had taken a long, deep breath before she slowly pressed play on the movie. She sat down again, but this time on Neo's lap. The former criminal was clearly surprised at Ciel initiating the affection, considering usually Neo did that sort of thing. She was starting to wonder if she should play this movie more to see if Ciel could be more possessive again...)

_Movie Neo was now fake crying, poorly, as she signed about her past to Ciel, who had now moved over to wrap her in a hug._

( _'I didn't cry!"_ Neo signed aggressively. _'And why would you already be comforting me, Gorgeous?! We weren't close enough for that yet!'_ Ciel had avidly agreed, leaning back to put her head on Neo's shoulder as she spoke. "At this point I still thought you were a heartless criminal trying to lower my guard." Neo snorted silently. _'Yeah, a **hot** heartless criminal that definitely lowered your guard because I seduced you perfectly.'_ Ciel didn't argue, but she did roll her eyes. Neo took that as a win.)

_Neo was now being walked out of the train in her chains, but Penny made a mistake in handing over the chains, letting them fall to the ground limply. The guards hurried to pick them up, but Neo was already disappearing. Ciel watched with a wide, over dramatic gasp. A moment later, Neo reappeared beside Ciel and gave her a note._

_The note read "Hello, girl-"_ ( _'DID THAT SAY GIRL?! I CALL YOU GORGEOUS!'_ real Neo signed aggressively) _"I didn't get the chance to talk to you enough, so I'll be around."_

_Meanwhile, Penny on screen was laughing at having dropped the chains._

_"Whoops!" Penny said, turning to face the camera and giving it a playful wink_.

(Real Penny frowned in confusion, tilting her head to the side and looking over at Winter. "I... feel as if I have not been properly portrayed in this documentary," Penny said. "That's because you haven't, honey," Winter almost winced as she used the last word, clearly not used to using pet names nor showcasing affection, "they've shown everyone incorrectly. You're not a jokester or a mess up," Winter continued. "And Winter's definitely not straight," Weiss muttered. Winter threw a shoe at her. Not her shoe, mind you, but Neo's shoe. The former criminal didn't seem to mind.)

_The next scene that was shown was Yang looking dramatically out the window beside Blake._

_"What's wrong?" Blake asked, bumping against her side._

("Dear dust I swear if they make me straight I'm killing someone," real Yang said. "Twenty lien says you're making out with Ren in five minutes," Coco replied. Nora growled in warning. Coco pulled Velvet closer, suddenly falling silent. "Or, hear me out, there's another really awkward love triangle with a guy that has nothing to do with your relationship," Sun called from the back. Yang growled.)

_"Weiss' been acting weird lately," Yang's actress said._

("Oh! Maybe they're going to put us together!" real Yang had said, shaking Weiss gently, clearly worried that she might upset the babies in her womb. Also because Blake might have hit Yang if Weiss showed any sign of discomfort.)

_"She has?" fake Blake asked._

_"Yeah, ever since Sun and Neptune arrived."_

("SINCE WE WHAT?!" Sun cried, tail twitching irritably. "We didn't come to Atlas with you guys!")

_"What do you think it's about?"_

_"I think Weiss likes Neptune," Yang said, shaking her head._

("Nope!" real Weiss called from her seat. Yang snickered.)

_"Is that a problem?" Blake asked, reaching out to put her hand on Yang's leg._

("See! Even when they're trying to make us look straight we're still coded gay," Yang said. Blake snickered and leaned closer, giving her a quick kiss. "Duh, we're married, Yang." The blond had looked incredibly smug at the words.)

_"I... maybe?" fake Yang said. "Because I-"_

("Dust damnit," Yang muttered.)

_"-like Neptune too."_

_Blake stared at Yang on the screen, looking at one another for a long time._

_"That's... that's rough."_

_"Yeah."_

("The reason this movie sucks so much is because it's impossible to make any of us look straight or monogamous," Yang said. "I'm straight!" Nora called, cuddling into both of her boyfriends with a smug look on her face. "Nora, in this group a person can either be monogamous or straight, but not both. But, to be fair, most of us are neither," Blake said. There was a murmur of agreement between the group.)

_The next scene showed Neo, literally, dropping in on Ciel, landing on the balcony and tapping on the glass door so that Ciel could hear her._

_Ciel stepped forward and opened it, giving Neo a small smile as she considered._

_"I shouldn't be doing this," actress Ciel said._

_'That's entirely fair. This is a horrible decision for you, girl,' the subtitles for Neo read._

_The next scene that was showcased was the dance, in which all of the forced couples were dancing together, leaving behind the single actors and actresses to speak with one another in the background, mostly about crushes._

_The only ones that weren't were Penny and Ruby, who were both speaking about something stupid that nobody (both in the movie and_ out _listened to). Winter was actually watching the two, her arms crossed as she tapped her foot irritably._

("Is Winter seriously going to be the only character that is into her actual partner?!" Weiss hissed. "Hang on," Nora said, holding up her hands. "There's still a chance that Ren and I might get together because that's actually straight and neither of us have shown interest in someone else in the movie." Jaune started to grumble irritably, but Nora leaned closer and put her head on his shoulder so that she could comfort him.)

_Winter finally looked away from Penny and the screen shifted to Ilia, who was watching Jaune and Pyrrha dance with a sour look on her face._

("This is totally unfair," Ilia muttered, shaking her head as she pulled closer to her boyfriend and girlfriend "It really is," Sun muttered, eyes narrowing as he watched the next scene.)

_Blake and Sun were twirling in a circle together, and the awkwardness was palpable._

_"I need to know," Blake said dramatically. "Why can't we be together."_

_"It's complicated, Blake," Sun said, his voice stoic. He had an odd character in the movie, serious rather than playful, quiet instead of loud and, sometimes, annoying._

_Weiss and Neptune were also dancing, Yang watching with the same look on her face as Ilia had when she had watched Jaune and Pyrrha._

(The next scene that anyone paid any attention to was Neo and Ciel, considering it wasn't focused on the wrong relationships.)

_"What are you doing here?" Ciel asked, sounding breathless as she looked up at the criminal._

_'Seeing you.'_

_"But why are you really?" Ciel questioned, standing still even as Neo took several steps toward her, invading her personal space._

_'I told you, girl,' Neo signed, moving closer and reaching her hand up to move a small bit of hair behind Ciel's ear. Ciel watched the movement with a sharp breath before she returned her gaze to Neo's face. 'I've never had a sister.'_

("This is the worst thing I've ever seen," Ciel said, her voice monotone. _'INCEST!'_ Neo signed angrily. Ciel nodded in agreement, playing with her wedding ring before pulling her legs up closer to her chest and on top of Neo's lap.)

_Anyone watching that scene that had_ _eyes_ (and even Fox, who couldn't even **see** ) _would be confused as they watched this scene. It was clear that Neo and Ciel should have kissed in any world with logic, but the movie wouldn't allow._

_And, fifteen minutes later, to cement the idea that Neo and Ciel could **never** be together in the movie, Neo was making out with Ren._

(There was a riot in the room while Nora and Neo both yelled, although Neo herself couldn't scream, so she had a very confused Penny doing it for her. Penny was still wondering why Ciel hadn't kissed or even shown any hints of romance between the two of them.)

_A minute later, they all made their escape, Winter and Penny going to take the power from the Maiden, ending in Penny taking the power for herself on accident._

_Winter had had a five minute monologue afterwards where, out loud, she wondered if she should go with Penny or stay to help Atlas. Finally, Winter decided to come with Penny, the robotic girl taking Winter into her arms and leading her out of the building._

("Can we please stop watching this now?" Yang groaned as she saw Neptune and Weiss start making out on screen. "There's only half an hour left in the movie, honey," Blake said, leaning closer to the blond and giving her a small kiss on the cheek. "That's half an hour too long to continue watching this," Weiss muttered. "But I haven't even been in it yet!" Oscar whine. There was a beat of silence before Yang sighed, shaking her head. "Fine! But if you start making out with someone, I'm leaving to go throw up like I'm Weiss every morning." Both Blake and Weiss smacked the blond on the arm for the words.)

_Oscar appeared on screen for the first time with Qrow, and he was already staring at Ruby._

"Nope we're done I'm not watching myself kiss anyone but Whitley," Oscar cried. "I don't cheat and I won't watch myself cheat!" he shut off the television before he could start kissing Ruby on the screen.

"That's it! I'm suing!" Coco cried. "We... we have to fix this!" she threw her hands up in the air. "And we're making a new movie! One that shows the **real** version of our story, and does **not** lie about our relationships."

"Or have the wrong names of the villains," Ruby mumbled.

There was a cheer of agreement in the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it's over! Anyone like the movie?


	86. Revenge

Rachel frowned as she paced back and forth in her dorm room.

Natalie and Ivy were watching her. Or, well, at least Natalie was, but Ivy was looking at the wall like it was a window. But her attention was clearly on Rachel.

"What's your problem now, Rach?" Natalie asked, wrapping her arm around Ivy's shoulders.

"She's frustrated," Ivy muttered.

"How can you tell from all the way over there?!" Rachel cried.

"Because you look frustrated," Ivy replied, starting to sway back and forth just a bit as she sat. Natalie snorted.

"Well, I am frustrated! Can you believe what she said to me?!"

"Who?" Natalie asked, raising a confused eyebrow.

"Alea, of course!" Rachel cried.

"You mean the sweet little puppy girl?" Ivy asked idly.

"She's a faunus?" Natalie replied, frowning.

"Puppy?!" Rachel cried.

"She's not a faunus, Nat," Ivy said, suddenly having her eyes clear as she thought about how to speak. "I said that because she's sweet."

"She flirted with me to make me confess! She played me!" Rachel cried.

"To be fair, you did use her to make Natalie and Ivy jealous," Oscar noted.

"That's... that was a lapse in judgment," Rachel said slowly

"Can't have a lapse in something you don't have," Natalie replied.

Ivy tilted her head to the side before she let out a quiet laugh.

"Hey! Don't corrupt Ivy!" Rachel snapped, hurrying over to grab Ivy by the ears so that she couldn't hear anything else Natalie said.

"You do know that I can read thoughts right?" Ivy asked.

"Yeah I do-" Rachel cut herself off, her and Natalie gaping at Ivy.

"Did she-" Natalie stopped suddenly.

"I think that she **did** just admit that she reads minds!" Rachel cried excitedly.

Ivy sighed.

"At this point, there's no point in arguing with you two," Ivy replied, moving closer so that she could put her head on Rachel's shoulder.

Rachel grinned down at her, wrapping around her taller girlfriend.

Ivy started to idly play with her jacket collar.

"I need a way to get revenge on that jerk," Rachel said contemplatively.

"I like her," Ivy said idly, continuing to mess with Rachel's jacket. Rachel squirmed a bit at the action.

"Do you have to do that? I **know** you can feel that it tickles. And did you just say that you **like** her?! What, did she seduce you like she seduced her whole team?!" Rachel cried.

Ivy giggled quietly and continued to mess with the jacket.

"Did you know that there's four calories in a gram of sugar?" Ivy asked.

"Are you calling her sweet?!" Rachel shrieked.

"You know that she is," Natalie replied, rolling her eyes. "You learned to speak Ivy and you know it!"

"I just can't believe that she said it!" Rachel all but whined.

"Why do you dress so weird?" Ivy asked idly, moving her hand down so that she could mess with Rachel's pockets.

Rachel blushed and tried to focus on the matter at hand.

"What?! **I'm** the one that dresses weird?! I'm the only one in this group that has any sense of style!"

"But your clothes don't go together," Ivy said. Rachel felt Ivy continue to trace her hand across her jacket. Her voice sounded like music-

Rachel forcibly stopped the thoughts, knowing that Ivy might be able to sense them. Ivy giggled, and Rachel internally cursed, knowing she hadn't realized it soon enough.

"My clothes are awesome!" Rachel cried.

"This is not the point!" Oscar called from the other side of the room. "Why do you really hate Alea?"

"Because she's a no good flirt?" Rachel asked.

"It's because you kinda liked her, isn't it?!" Natalie suddenly cried, grinning.

Rachel blushed deeply.

"What?! Of course not! I liked you two!"

"She thought she was _cute_!" Ivy suddenly cried.

Rachel's face turned impossibly red.

"That's... that's not fair! Everyone thinks she's hot!"

"That's fair," Natalie said, shrugging.

Ivy glanced at her.

"What?! She's, like, everyone's secret crush!"

"You like her?" Ivy asked, tilting her head to the side just slightly.

"I don't _like_ her," Natalie held Ivy's hand so that she could sense that she was telling the truth, "but she's still... really charming."

"And hot," Rachel chimed in.

"She is?" Ivy asked, frowning. "She always seems so sweet."

"Ives, she's a flirt," Natalie said gently.

"They're actually right for once," Oscar chimed in.

"She's not a flirt," Ivy replied with ease.

"Whatever, that's not what's important," Rachel said, waving her hands dismissively. "What matters is that we need to teach her and her team a lesson."

"What do you have in mind?" Natalie asked, smirking. She really wanted to do **something** to mess with that Stacey girl. She was super annoying.

"We challenge them," Rachel said with a smirk, "to a spar."

"And lose? Have you seen Alea?" Oscar asked, scoffing.

His teammates glanced at him.

"Hey, I'm in love, not blind!" he said defensively.

"I'm going to _ignore_ that," Rachel said, "because we can totally take them out, especially since Ivy can tell us everything about them!"

"I'm not using my semblance for evil."

"Aw, but Ives, I love you," Rachel said, moving closer and giving Ivy a wide grin.

"Not relevant."

"Fine! But we're still gonna win."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone care to guess who's gonna win?


	87. The Challenge

Alea smiled as she leaned back in her chair, wrapping an arm around Stacey.

Her girlfriend glanced at her, blushing just slightly.

"You know I don't like it when you do that in public," she muttered, but that didn't stop her from leaning into the embrace.

"But you look so cute when you get embarrassed," Alea replied.

Stacey flushed again, and Terresa snickered.

"She's right, ya know."

"Shut up," Stacey said, but there was no real malice to the words.

Terresa grinned and leaned closer to Lexey, whispering something in her ear that made her giggle quietly.

Before Lexey could respond, the bell rang and the four started to grab their things, Alea snatching onto Stacey's and putting it in her bag with a wide smirk and a wink.

"I swear, she makes the three of us look so bad," Terresa muttered and rolled her eyes.

Lexey smirked, shoving her things into Terresa's arms.

"There! Now you look better!" Lexey said.

"She always look good," Alea said with a wide smirk. It was a weird thing to witness, because both of them knew that Alea was meaning to give them an innocent grin.

Lexey forced herself not to say anything about it, meeting the smile with her own.

"Where to?" she asked, leaning against Terresa's side.

"How about we see if we can break that old Aura? Been a few weeks and we still have payback for last time she used her semblance to get us to confess," Terresa replied.

"What?! I'd anything you three owe **me** for making you confess, because who knows how long you would have taken?!" Alea said, smirking.

"I still think we need to see that Aura broken," Terresa responded.

"See?! They're already talking about breaking Auras!" a familiar voice cried.

They turned to see Rachel striding toward them, holding Ivy's hand in her own to guide the other girl forward. Ivy seemed distracted until her eyes landed on Alea, who she gave a kind smile and a wave.

Alea waved back, grinning excitedly to Ivy. To everyone else it seemed like a sultry smirk, and Rachel scowled at her.

"Hey, Ives, been a long time!" Alea said, reaching out to grab her in an excited hug.

Ivy beamed and hugged her back, making Natalie cross her arms against her chest irritably.

"Did you know that the universe is-"

"Approximately thirteen point eight billion years old! Yeah, I remember!" Alea said, excitement radiating over Ivy. To Natalie and Rachel, she seemed as if she was trying to seduce their girlfriend.

Ivy's smile broadened, and her gaze was focused on Alea in a way that it hardly ever focused.

Natalie's wings pulled closer to herself, making Rachel raise an eyebrow. Her girlfriend always did that when she was nervous or frustrated. And awkward, but it was always easy to tell when she was awkward because things usually started bursting into flames.

"It hasn't been that long since you two saw each other," Stacey said with an eye roll. "You two went to lunch last week."

"You did?" Rachel asked, frowning.

"Yeah," Alea said, giving her a smirk.

"Babe, this is one of those times," Lexey muttered, putting a hand on Alea's shoulder.

"How so?" she asked, head tilting just slightly to the side as she glanced at her sister.

"Just trust me," Lexey muttered.

Alea frowned and glanced down at Ivy, giving her another kind smile.

Ivy giggled.

"Aw, such a sweetheart, always so confused."

Alea beamed.

"That's what I love about you, you always understand," Alea said, her tone juxtaposing the kind, almost exhilarating one that she was trying to portray.

Ivy laughed and gave her girlfriends a small smile, rolling her eyes.

"I know your semblance," Ivy replied.

"Of course you do, love," Alea said, laughing.

"Alright, alright," Rachel said, reaching forward to grab Ivy by the hand and pull her backward toward herself and Natalie.

"To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?" Alea asked, still smiling toward Ivy.

"Rachel wants to fight," Ivy said immediately.

"What?" Alea asked, frowning. "Why?"

"For practice. It'd be good to have an all out spar, wouldn't it?" Rachel said smoothly.

Stacey and Terresa shared a look, the latter letting out a loud scoff as she shook her head.

"Not because you think Alea just seduced you're girlfriend?" Terresa asked.

"Or maybe because she seduces you," Stacey added with ease, staring down at her nails.

Stacey snorted, throwing her hand over her mouth to cover the noise. She blushed slightly while Alea gave her a fond look. She always loved hearing the other girl give that adorable little laugh and-

"Wait did you just say she thinks I deduced Ivy?" Alea asked, frowning.

"Yeah, babe," Stacey said, patting her on the arm.

"I assure you," Alea smirked, words seeking to be spoken with a smooth quality, "that's not the case."

Rachel and Natalie scowled at Alea, and she glanced at Ivy for help.

Ivy gave her a wide smile, leaning against Rachel.

"Babe, I love you, but I swear that semblance is going to get one of us killed," Stacey said, crossing her arms.

"She's right," Terresa muttered.

Alea took a moment to consider before she turned to face team ORIN.

"Well, I have been wanting to see how you guys fight as a group, and we've been meaning to get in some more sparring at some point, so... if my girls are okay with it, then I'd love to have a fun little spar with you guys!" Alea said.

Rachel looked at her with a small, confused look on her face.

Lexey was suddenly smirking.

"Al, you know that you don't need us to wipe the floor with those four," she said.

"Yeah, after all, you beat all three of us," Stacey said, crossing her arms.

"Dear dust, Stac! When are you going to finally let that go?!" Alea hissed.

"Whenever I can forget the image of you slamming me against a wall and breaking my Aura, followed by both of my other girlfriends," Stacey said.

"You attacked me!" Alea said, throwing her arms up in the air irritably.

"To help you!" Stacey growled

Alea rolled her eyes and turned to face her.

"Are you in or not?"

Stacey considered for a moment.

"I suppose."

"Great! When do you want to-"

"Now," Rachel said, scowling.

Alea glanced to Oscar, and he rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry about her, if you don't want to it's fine."

"Oh we're alright, Oscar. We can spar now. I just hope Rachel won't keep glaring at me like that..."

"She will, Al," Stacey said, rolling her eyes as she grabbed Alea's hand in hers.

Alea pouted, but it came out as a small smirk.

"Too bad."

She turned to exit the room, following after Rachel, who all but stalked out.

Ivy fell into step beside Alea, smiling broadly, and the team leader wrapped an arm around her shoulders to lead her out.

Natalie scowled at the action, but decided to keep her mouth shut.

She'd just have to show her frustration during the spar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Take your bets!


	88. ATLS Vs. ORIN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long, over 10k words...
> 
> I went a little...
> 
> Overboard

Alea laughed at Ivy's words, giving her a wide grin before she stepped forward into the sparring practice room.

"Are you sure you're all ready to fight?" Alea asked kindly, giving Rachel and Natalie a small smile (they growled internally at the smug smirk). "I know that your semblances require some charging and I would like this to be a fair fight."

"How do you know that?" Rachel growled.

"Ivy told me," Alea said, giving them a kind smile. "I think yours are really awesome. Especially yours, Rachel."

Rachel glared darkly at her and Alea shifted awkwardly, running a hand through her hair. Her gaze was locked on Ivy as if praying for her help.

"Stop doing that," Stacey hissed.

"What?" Alea asked at regular volume.

"Stop doing that with your hair," Terresa whispered.

"Why? It's a nervous tick!" Alea defended, frowning in confusion.

"Yeah, a flirtatious and hot one," Stacey said, crossing her arms against her chest.

"That's not my fault!" Alea cried, causing Natalie and Rachel to both stare at her. "You **know** I don't mean to!"

"It's totally your fault," Lexey said. "You **know** how hot you are."

Alea let out a quiet sigh and pouted at her girlfriends.

Alea finally stepped away from her teammates, trying not to second guess herself as she got ready.

"So you're ready?" she asked gently to Rachel and Natalie.

"We're fine," Rachel hissed, causing Alea to hold up her hands as if to say, 'please don't cut my head off I'm trying to be nice but for some reason you hate my guts' but it came across as 'hey, don't blame me for being so freaking amazing.'

Ivy giggled and reached down to grab her weapons, twirling the two twin guns so that they were pointed vaguely toward team team ATLS. Ivy was still staring in a focused manner at Alea.

Oscar stepped forward and Alea did the same, both reaching their hands out to shake them.

"Good luck," Oscar said.

"You too," Alea replied with a wide smile as she dropped back to join her teammates.

"Pfft, they're gonna need that good luck! Alea on her _own_ took out all three of us with Aura to spare!" Lexey cried. She leaned over closer to whisper in Terresa's ear. "Am I doing trash talk right?"

Terresa nodded with a wide grin on her face.

"Dust yeah you are."

Lexey beamed until Rachel snorted.

"Ha! Her beating you three up just says how horrible you are! And how she, apparently, isn't the best girlfriend."

Alea winced as she got into position between Stacey and Lexey across the room from team ORIN.

"Well, they, uh, they attacked me first... that doesn't make it any better..."

"Babe?" Stacey called.

"Hmm?" Alea hummed, glancing over at her.

"I think it would probably be best if you were quiet now."

"Probably," Alea admitted, letting out a sigh. She took a moment to compose herself before she whipped her broad sword out from behind her back, holding it up in front of her defensively while she got into the correct stance. "Lex, you using your semblance?"

"Oh, you know it!"

"Try not to kill us on accident. Ter, try not to fracture the ground _too_ much," the team leader said as the countdown began.

"No promises!" Terresa said, beaming.

Alea rolled her eyes fondly.

"And Stac, try not to trip us this time."

"It happened once and it was Terresa's fault."

"Also, try not to roundhouse kick me in the face," Alea said, smirking.

"Also one time and I didn't even hit you," Stacey replied.

"Because I got out of the way!"

Meanwhile, team ORIN was having a rather similar conversation.

"Nat, try not to burn down the school," Oscar said.

"Then tell Rach not to embarrass me."

"Not my fault that it's so easy, babe!" Rachel called, giving her a wink.

Natalie flushed slightly, giving her a glare as she struggled to hold back another fire.

"Rachel, try not to make Natalie burn down the school... and don't break it down itself. Also, Ives, try not to freak them out. Unless you have to."

"It's not my fault that people don't like my semblance," Ivy said.

"You can be kind of creepily," Rachel said.

A beat of silence.

"Yeah, kind of, I mean... you do go a little over board occasionally," Natalie said slowly.

"Wow, that was _almost_ comprehensible," Rachel said. "First time for everything."

"Go screw yourself," Natalie said with an eye roll.

Rachel snorted.

"I have people for that."

"Who has 'people for that?'" Natalie replied with another eye roll.

"People with two awesome girlfriends."

**_FWOOSH!_ **

A flame started up in the middle of the sparring room, burning exceedingly bright.

"Hey! I thought we agreed to go when the countdown was over!" Stacey snapped, pointing at the timer, which had fifteen seconds left.

"That was _definitely_ an accident!" Oscar called, scurrying across the room to pat out the fire. It didn't work as Rachel smirked at Natalie, causing the fire to grow even more.

"SON OF A-"

Oscar was on fire, but he didn't get to finish his statement as he was hit in the face by a fire extinguisher, courtesy of Stacey. There was a beat of silence, the fire finally out.

Rachel continued to smirk at Natalie.

"OH COME ON!" Stacey yelled, using the fire extinguisher once again as Oscar screamed in shock, the fire starting up on his coat.

"Aw, come on, Nat, you know I was messing with you," Rachel said, elbowing her girlfriend in the arm with a small smirk.

"Hehe," Natalie forced the laugh, face still red. "Right... uh, right..."

Rachel rolled her eyes.

"I _was_ , now calm down, lover bat, cause we have a fight to start."

Stacey finally put down the fire extinguisher, but slowly, as if nervous that the fire might start back up again, which was a fair concern, to be honest.

Natalie's face had finally returned to its normal skin tone (mostly, it was a little more pink than normal, but just a bit).

"Alright, sorry, I shouldn't have embarrassed her, I know how she gets!" Rachel called to the other team. "We're ready!"

Oscar started up the countdown again, this time for ten seconds instead of a minute, and the eight students got ready to start the spar.

Rachel took one final breath, letting her eyes fall shut.

"Same plan as last time?" she asked.

"We did get in trouble for school property damage," Natalie muttered.

"But it was _awesome_ ," Ivy said. Her teammates glanced at her, and she grinned.

"I guess we can _try_ it but," Oscar said.

Natalie snorted.

"Hesitant cause you're the only blind one in this team?"

"You know that is exactly why I am hesitant, Natalie," Oscar said.

Natalie let out a quiet laugh and was about to respond, but the timer went off.

Before Natalie could react, team ATLS was a blur of movement, clearly having thought their battle plans out more than team ORIN (that was perhaps Oscar's fault, considering he hadn't really thought about this sort of thing as much as Alea had).

Alea shot forward first, as the tank member of their team, and swung her sword straight at Rachel.

Rachel was so shocked that she didn't have time to use some of her strength reserve, sending her flying backward with a loud grunt.

Alea smirked while her girlfriends all dashed forward to join her in the attack.

Lexey's eyes had already turned black as she whipped her weapons toward Ivy, almost hitting the woman.

Ivy's eyes widened in shock as she dropped back, raising her gun and firing a shot at Lexey, who easily spun in a tight circle so that she could both avoid the bullet and swing her chakram around, almost slicing through Ivy's arm.

Ivy let out a grunt of shock.

Something was different with Lexey, something was **wrong**! She was usually excitable and easy to read by Ivy, but now... all the sudden she was dark and closed off, impossible for Ivy to comprehend.

This had to be the semblance that Alea had told her about a few times.

Ivy had heard about it, obviously, but she had never truly understood how Lexey being able to shut off her emotions would affect her thoughts and how hard it was for her to read.

It was clear to Ivy that she didn't just cut off her feelings, but also shielded Lexey from not just her _own_ semblance, but any manipulation. Perhaps that's why she wasn't distracted by Alea in the slightest. Even Ivy herself was drawn toward Alea's semblance slightly, had been since the moment she had met her, but was able to see past it in a way that nobody else was able to due to her semblance.

Ivy dove to the side as another attack came her way. She'd forgotten how bad it was when she couldn't sense someone's feelings and thoughts when she was fighting them.

At the same time, Terresa was focused on Oscar, using her hammer to swing directly at Oscar's face.

Oscar laughed as he ducked.

Terresa raised an eyebrow at the sound.

"A hammer? You sent the girl with the **hammer** to fight me? Did you forget that I traveled with **Nora** for years?! Of course I know how to dodge a hammer!"

Terresa let out a scoff and slammed her boot against the floor, causing it to crack underneath Oscar. Oscar threw up his hands to form a bubble around him, stopping himself from falling into the large crack. Terresa smirked, waving her hand and causing the crack in the ground to close around him.

Oscar let out a sound of strain as his bubble was forced into the crack, fighting against the force of the closing earth around him.

Terresa pushed harder, tossing her hammer over her shoulder as she waited.

Finally, Oscar let out a groan and let the bubble pop. Immediately, Terresa swung her hammer, which connected with his side and sent him flying to the side, slamming against Natalie.

The team leader hitting her was enough to send them tumbling toward the ground. This allowed her to evade an attack from Stacey, who had been swinging her swaton, which was buzzing with electricity menacingly, at the faunus.

The two struck the ground and Natalie wrapped her arms around her team leader, scrambling to her feet and diving to the side to avoid a kick from Stacey. As she dove toward the ground, her wings unfurled and she flapped them with strength, causing her to lift into the air out of Stacey's reach.

"Ha! Maybe Alea should have fought Natalie instead, considering how short you are! Maybe **she'd** be able to reach her up there!" Terresa called.

"Shut up before I come over there and **make** you shut up!" Stacey growled lowly, stalking back and forth as she watched Natalie holding her team leader in the air.

Both were observing the fighting together.

"Nat, I think I just-"

"Need a second to think of a plan?" the faunus offered her team leader with a small smirk. "You got it. Let's just hope they can hold out that long."

Alea was swinging her sword at Rachel again, causing the other girl to turn on her speed and strength reserves to evade the attack. Alea had made a smart decision to fight Rachel. The two both had large reserves (one of which was an Aura, the other actually being physical qualities) and the one that could last longer would be the victor. And Alea had a whole lot of reserves. Not to mention that Rachel had no idea what was going on, nor why Alea didn't seem disturbed by the strong attacks coming from her.

Alea was intimidating to her, seeming to loom over her (Natalie would say that she did that bot h literally _and_ figuratively).

Ivy was struggling against Lexey, who was immune to her mind games. Lexey's eyes were disturbingly cold and closed off, as if she was barely in there.

Her heart raced as Lexey swung her chakram at her. She dove to the side and skidded across the ground. Her sliding brought her out of the way of Stacey, who attempted to stab her with her swaton as she passed.

Why wasn't she fighting Natalie?!

Ivy's eyes shot to her girlfriend, who was flying high above her.

"Uh, I could kind of use some help here!" Ivy shouted.

"Ives, can you give us a minute?!" Natalie called.

Ivy nodded, throwing up her weapon, in sword form, to block the swaton.

Stacey flicked a switch and the weapon oozed with electricity, shooting through the sword and electrocuting Ivy.

She groaned and dropped back, hand shaking just slightly as she held up her sword. She switched it to her rifles, wanting to keep the members of team ATLS at bay.

Rachel swung her fist, giving a large dose of her strength reserve as she struck Alea in the chest.

Alea dug her feet into the ground to stay where she was, letting out a grunt of effort.

Rachel gaped at her as Alea swung her sword, slamming it against her side. Rachel strengthened her body before the strike.

"What in the name of dust is wrong with you?" Rachel hissed, grabbing her weapon and extending it into quarter staff form.

"You know," Alea gave her a lopsided smirk, "I wasn't really sure until a few weeks ago, actually."

She kicked out at Rachel, who increased her speed and threw herself to the side to avoid the other girl's boot.

"Hey, Nat, love you babe, Ozzy, I love you less so, but I really need you two to figure out your shit!" Rachel called as Terresa started to advance on her.

"Working on it!" Natalie shouted. "But seriously, Os, we need a plan," she whispered.

"I've got one, but I don't like it."

"Is it-"

"Yes, yes, but I'm going to get yelled at by Winter."

"Honestly? Worth it just to see Winter yell. I didn't know she could do that," Natalie replied.

Oscar nodded and reached down to grab Natalie's weapon.

"Ivy was better at this," Natalie muttered.

"Thanks," Oscar replied, rolling his eyes before he raised her weapon over Natalie's head, scrambling onto her back.

"Watch it," Natalie muttered while his foot hit her in the face.

"Sorry!"

Oscar was finally on her back and had her weapon raised.

"Ready!"

Natalie nodded before she shot higher into the air so that she was closer to the ceiling.

"Are we doing it?!" Rachel cried, using her extra speed to dive to the side as Alea tried to stab her.

"Yes," Ivy replied, kicking Stacey in the stomach before she blocked a blow from Lexey with her gun, holding it up like a sheild.

"Awesome!" Rachel called, eyes starting to glow gray as she got prepared.

Oscar slammed Natalie's weapon into the ceiling through the lights, shorting them out.

Ivy's eyes shot closed immediately as she reached out with her senses, using her semblance so that she could hit Stacey with the butt of her gun.

Natalie laughed as she dropped down to the ground, setting Oscar a few meters away from the fighting.

"Stay safe!" she called before she darted away.

"Son of a bitch!" Terresa growled as she stumbled at the sudden darkness in the room.

Stacey turned on her semblance, becoming invisible to the eye.

Natalie dashed over, running at full speed across the ground until she got to Alea. She raised her weapon, slashing it toward the team leader.

Alea suddenly ducked down, evading the strike. She then grabbed her sword and swung it at Natalie.

Natalie leapt into the air to dodge the attack, using her wings to fly over the team leader and land next to Rachel.

"How is she able to do that?! What's wrong with her?!" she cried, grabbing onto Natalie's hand as the faunus flew into the air.

Alea let out a laugh and shook her head.

"It's all in the Aura, Rachel!" she called, eyes shut as she stood still, her sword raised.

Natalie dropped Rachel, who fell toward the team leader, holding her quarter staff in both hands in an attempt to hit the team leader.

Alea stepped to the side, seeming to flow in a liquid fashion, to evade the attack.

Rachel screamed.

Meanwhile, Ivy was attacking Lexey mercilessly, shooting her over and over as the girl tried to escape each attack.

Finally, Lexey's semblance shut off, and she fell to the ground in a heap, striking the ground.

She let out a scream and Ivy hesitated.

Alea suddenly took off at a sprint, her eyes still shut, and vaulted over Terresa, who let out a grunt of shock at the action, and swung her sword straight at Ivy.

Ivy ducked and raised her gun to shoot at Alea, but the team leader raised her leg, kicking at the hand.

Ivy scrambled to pick her weapon back up while Alea skidded to a stop in front of Lexey, helping her girlfriend to her feet.

"You okay, hon?" she asked worriedly, her eyes still shut.

Lexey's eyes shifted from their normal brown to black.

"Yes, Alea. I'm fine."

Alea hesitated. Lexey had just turned off her semblance so that she could get help from Alea. Normally, Lexey wouldn't be able to think of something so manipulative, but with her semblance on...

Alea shook her head as she put Lexey behind her, widening her stance as she waited for an attack.

She had her eyes closed still. The only reason she hadn't already been hit so far was her Aura, which was allowing her to sense the attacks before they came. Her semblance was actually pretty awesome! She was coming around on it alright!

"Hey, Ter, if you get a minute, do you mind?" Alea called, raising her sword to block an attack from... someone. She wasn't sure who was who or even where she was.

"Give me a sec, Al!" Terresa called, crouched low on the ground with her hand on the ground so that she could feel the earth better.

She felt Ivy attacking Stacey, whose Aura was draining rapidly, and Terresa sent a wall of earth up to hit the other girl. Ivy let out a grunt of shock as she was hit. Ivy skidded across the ground and groaned.

Terresa was about to continue attacking her, but suddenly felt a hard _something_ connect with her face. She thought it was a boot. It was courtesy of Natalie, who had swooped down to kick her. Terresa hadn't been able to sense it because the faunus had been in the air, out of her reach.

"Okay I think I'm ready!" Terresa called as she lay on the ground.

She closed her eyes and focused on the ground. A moment later, it started to shake and finally the western wall collapsed, allowing light to come seeping into the room.

"Dust, not again," Natalie muttered.

"We need to stick together, they clearly know how to take us down on our own," Oscar called to his team.

Natalie nodded immediately, shooting into the air.

As she passed overhead, Rachel jumped, grabbing onto her hand and holding on tight.

Ivy smirked, pulling out her guns and racing forward, straight at Stacey.

Stacey let out a sound of shock at being seen when she was invisible, raising her weapon too late. Ivy leapt into the air, planting her feet on Stacey's chest and pushing her backward. She used the force of the push to vault into the air while Stacey dropped down toward the ground. As she flew, Ivy shot her in the chest twice.

Ivy spun midair, pulling the trigger on both of her rifles as she neared Lexey. The black-eyed girl let out a grunt, trying to slice Ivy with her chakram, but Ivy was able to dodge it. She kicked out at Lexey before she shooting at her chest.

As Lexey fell back, Ivy pushed off her again and into the air. As she arched, Natalie swooped underneath her and Ivy grabbed onto one of her metallic wings.

Ivy pulled herself forward, landing on Natalie's back completely like the last time they had sparred against team RWBY.

"That was **badass** , Ives!"Rachel cheered excitedly, grinning up at her girlfriend.

Ivy gave her a small smile, looking slightly distracted.

Natalie finally landed beside Oscar, letting Rachel down onto the ground while Ivy still lightly held onto her back.

"What's the plan, Ozzy boy?" Rachel asked, holding her quarter staff with a crooked grin on her face.

"I told you not to call me that," Oscar muttered.

"And I told you that's not happening," Rachel said, causing the team leader roll his eyes.

"Ivy, what can you tell us about their semblances?" Oscar asked.

Team ATLS advanced on the four, circling around them, but Oscar created a protective bubble around the four of them quickly.

"Terresa can make earthquakes and control the earth," Ivy said idly, "Stacey turns invisible, Lexey shuts off her emotions and makes herself impossible to read, and we all know Alea's."

"Of course, of course," Rachel said.

A beat of silence.

"What is the semblance?" she finally asked, grimacing slightly at her girlfriend.

"Her Aura, of course."

"Son of a bitch!" Rachel cursed. "That's why they sent her against me! She's supposed to make me waste my reserves!"

Alea beamed excitedly as she looked at her teammates.

"And it worked!"

"It was a good idea, babe," Terresa said.

Oscar pulled his teammates closer, starting to whisper to them as his bubble started to run out of time.

He whispered the plan before they broke apart with a small "go team!"

Ivy clutched Natalie tightly, grinning down at her.

"You ready, Ives?" Natalie asked, switching her weapon to her two sided sword.

Ivy nodded as she raised her rifles excitedly.

"Hey, don't have too much fun without me," Rachel said, sending them a wink as she spun her quarter staff.

"Get ready," Oscar muttered. Suddenly, the bubble burst and team ATLS burst forward to attack.

Alea aimed for Rachel, but Oscar was there first, throwing up a protective bubble around Alea. Her fist connected with it, and she grumbled, stepping back and taking a second to consider her next move. Meanwhile, Rachel dashed toward Terresa.

Terresa shifted the ground under Rachel's feet, but she turned on her speed reserves, dashing past the crack before she could trip.

Terresa stumbled backward as a quarter staff shot toward her. She wasn't fast enough, and the weapon slammed against her side. The extra strength that Rachel had put into it was enough to send the usually unflappable Terresa flying several feet to the side.

Natalie and Ivy were in the sky, and Lexey already had her gaze set on the pair, dropping low to the ground as she stalked back and forth.

"Stacey!" she snapped.

Her girlfriend jumped at the sound of her harsh voice, pulling back from Ivy, who she had been attempting to attack.

"What?" she asked.

"Take care of Rachel, I need Terresa!" she called.

"What?" Alea asked, staring at Lexey as she blocked an attack from Oscar, following it up with a kick to the chest.

"Just let me have this, Al," Lexey growled, intent black eyes glaring up at Ivy and Natalie.

Stacey turned invisible and dashed toward a panicking Rachel.

"Uh, Ives!" she called, punching at Terresa as she hurried back toward Lexey.

"Nat, I need you to drop me off."

"Do you have to?" Natalie all but whined.

"You're not the only girlfriend I have to take care of now," Ivy said, giving a quick kiss to the back of Natalie's neck before she stood on top of her back, looking like she was surfing on her girlfriend.

As Natalie fly overhead, Ivy leapt off and droppped toward Rachel, who caught her in a bridal carry.

"What're you doing here, hot stuff?" Rachel asked with a smirk.

"Saving your life," Ivy replied, leaping out of her arms and sending a punch at thin air.

Stacey let out a curse.

Across from them, Terresa stopped beside Lexey.

"What do you need?" she asked.

"I need you to give me a boost."

Terresa smirked and slammed her boot against the ground, causing the earth underneath Lexey to shoot up, sending her flying into the air.

Natalie let out a cry of shock as Lexey grabbed onto her jacket, swinging her chakram toward her chest.

Natalie grabbed her hand and the two wrestled for a minute, Lexey getting the chakram closer and closer to the faunus.

After a moment, Natalie felt the weapon graze her chest, and she knew that she had to do _something_ else.

She dive bombed toward the ground, holding the other girl down.

As she was about to hit the ground, Lexey swung her legs expertly locking them around Natalie's waist before she twisted.

Natalie let out a cry of shock before Lexey flipped the pair, Natalie suddenly falling toward the ground.

She flapped her wings and slowed their dissent, but it was hard with Lexey still attempting to slice her chest.

Natalie and Lexey spiraled together toward the ground. Natalie brought one wing up and smacked Lexey with it, causing her to curse.

"Dear dust is that made of metal?" she asked, her voice completely void of emotion.

"Yes, actually," Natalie replied, attempting to get Lexey's legs off of her waist. "Mind getting off me? I've got two very possessive girlfriend. Or, well, one possessive girlfriend and one spacey one that probably doesn't care about this."

Ivy giggled from the ground, parrying a blow from Stacey's swaton with her short sword.

Lexey dropped one of her chakrams, which hit Oscar in the arm, making him cry out in pain.

Lexey used her newly free hand to punch Natalie in the gut.

"What could you possibly gain from this?!" Natalie cried. "If I go down you go down with me!"

"Is that so?" Lexey asked dully, tightening her grip around Natalie's waist as she attempted to attack her.

Natalie grumbled as she pushed Lexey, one hand on her face as she attempted to distance them.

Meanwhile, Terresa had dashed over to help Stacey, but it was difficult considering her girlfriend was invisible. Ivy was attacking Stacey, protecting Rachel from her because she knew that her girlfriend wouldn't be able to see her.

Rachel glanced to the side as she looked over at Oscar and Alea, the two fighting. Well, fighting was putting it... delicately. Alea was kicking the crap out of him, but he was hanging in there by creating shields in the air between him and the other team leader. Alea didn't seem to care about the distractions, sending strikes at Oscar whenever she could with her large assault rifle. Alea grinned as she looked at the rest of her team, glad that they were fighting so well together! They had been practicing their team moves _a lot_ lately and was glad they were getting the chance to show it off.

In fact, they'd been working on their team dynamic rigorously ever since they'd all gotten together, because Alea thought it was a great way to help strengthen their relationship. She herself thought it had been going _wonderful_! Her girlfriends, however, were all tired and sore all the time, not to mention highly distracted by one another (specifically Alea, especially when she, on rare the occasion after hours of working out, had her Aura broken).

Alea spun and slammed the butt of her rifle against Oscar's face before she kicked him in the chest, sending him flying several feet backward.

Alea let out a laugh as she darted forward, feeling her Aura taking over the way it did when she allowed her semblance to overwhelm her. It was an exhilerating feeling for the team leader, and it made her want to burst into even more laughter.

"I kinda need some help here!" Oscar called.

"In a sec!" Rachel replied, sending her knee up and connecting it with Terresa's stomach.

"Please hurry!" Oscar called before Alea whipped forward, tackling him to the ground and holding her gun above him.

"Sorry about this. If it means anything, I think you're a great team leader!" Alea said, pulling the trigger rapidly until she saw the telltale sign of an Aura breaking.

Oscar groaned and Alea grabbed him by the collar of his coat, lifting him into the air. He squirmed, eyes wide with fear, and Alea grabbed him more gently, holding him in a bridal carry as she jogged toward the side of the room. She set him down gently on the floor with an apologetic smile on her face.

"Sorry about all that. Hope you feel better!"

Before Oscar could respond, Alea dashed off and rejoined the battle.

"I'm coming, Ozzy boy!" Rachel called.

"Too late!" he shouted back, rolling his eyes as she tossed him an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, man!" Rachel replied before she started to turn to fight Terresa, but she didn't get the chance.

"Rach, behind you!" Natalie called.

Rachel spun and held her quarter staff up, blocking a blow from Alea's sword.

Alea gave her a playful smirk, eyes filled with excitement.

"Hey, Rachel," she said slowly. Rachel glared back at her for the flirtatious tone, reaching her right foot forward to sweep Alea's leg out from underneath her. Alea let out a sound of shock as she fell to the ground.

Rachel went to stab her quarter staff into Alea's chest, but the team leader rolled over.

Rachel turned on her extra speed reserves and shot toward Alea, who had just scrambled to her feet.

Rachel filled her arms with extra strength, sending swift, incredibly powerful punches toward Alea. The team leader absorbed almost all of them, only blocking a few of them with her broad sword.

Rachel strengthened her chest, not wanting to lose her breath in such a pivotal time. It was easy for her to almost fall unconscious when she used her semblance to such extremes.

Rachel fell back a few steps, not wanting to overextend herself and sure that Alea was on the verge of her Aura breaking.

Instead of finding the team leader panting and almost keeling over, she was met with the same wide smirk, Alea's sword slung over her shoulder as she looked down at Rachel.

"Is it my turn?" she asked, swinging her sword straight at Rachel's chest.

Rachel scrambled back, eyes wide.

"How are you still fighting?!" she hissed.

Alea gave her an innocent smile, but it was showcased as a smug smirk.

"Because I still have a lot of Aura left."

"Of course you do," Rachel growled.

"How's your reserves?" Alea asked, advancing on her slowly. She just had to make sure that Rachel ran out of them before she could finally take her out. Alea didn't know if, without a semblance that would give her an upper hand on the other girl other than making her the human version of a tank, she would be able to take Rachel out.

As Rachel started her barrage of attacks back up again, Alea threw up her arms to defend against them, preferring not to get hit in the face.

"Hey!" a loud and deep voice cried. "Stay away from her!"

"Ter, I'm fine, really!" Alea called as she side stepped, avoiding one of Rachel's strongest punches.

Rachel stumbled forward and Alea tripped her, sending her sprawling out on the ground with a curse.

"Are you sure?" Terresa asked, her eyes starting to glow a slight yellow color.

"Yup!" Alea replied, turning to face Rachel, who was growling and starting to advance on her.

"Rach!" Ivy screamed. "You're getting goaded into wasting your reserves! I know you're usually really good about this, but, Nat?" Ivy glanced at their other girlfriend.

"But you're being a dust damn idiot, now calm down!" Natalie hissed.

Rachel took a deep breath, nodding as Alea stood in front of her, smirking as she put one hand on her hip, cocking it to the side as she waited.

"But do I have to?" Rachel whined. "She's just so annoying!"

Alea's smile faltered, turning into a small frown. She lowered her weapon slightly.

"What?" she asked.

"Babe, can you talk this out with her later?" Terresa called as she blocked an attack from Natalie, who was struggling to help Ivy while Lexey was still clawing at her.

"You think that I'm annoying?" Alea asked Rachel, her eyes turning suddenly... innocently naive? That didn't make any sense!

Rachel hesitated as she looked up at Alea.

"Uh, yeah. You've been trying to annoy me since the moment we started talking about a spar!" Rachel cried.

"No I haven't!" Alea cried, throwing her hands up in frustration. She turned, leaving her back exposed to Rachel as she looked at her girlfriends, who were all still fighting. "Ugh! My semblance can be so **stupid**!"

"Yeah, but it's amazing," Terresa comforted.

"But it makes everyone either fall in love with me or hate me!" Alea all but whined.

Rachel was watching the exchange with a sense of confusion and shock.

Alea turned to face Rachel with the same pout on her face as she stared at the team leader.

"Well, we need to get this fight over, but afterwards I really hope we can talk this stuff out," Alea said, raising her sword and holding it tightly in her hands.

"What stuff?" Rachel asked, quarter staff swinging forward. "Stop flirting with my girlfriend and everything will be worked out!"

Alea blocked the blow with her sword and raised her leg, kicking Rachel in the chest.

Alea let out a groan and threw her hands up in the air.

"It's happening again!" she groaned. "I'm not flirting with your girlfriend."

Alea offered Rachel a smile, but it came out as a smirk toward her enemy.

Rachel glared at her.

"Oh really?" she growled.

"Yes, really! Have you considered that Ivy's a nice person that is nice to people so I want to be her friend?! Or maybe that I'm not a complete jerk that's flirting with your girlfriend in front of _all three of my already over jealous girlfriends_?!" Alea punctuated her words with several hits of her sword on the other student. She let out a growl and finally turned her sword into its rifle form, shooting her in the chest.

Rachel considered for a moment as she was sprawled out on the ground.

"To be honest?" Rachel asked, turning on her speed reserve as she dashed to her feet. "No, I really didn't consider either of those things."

"Well, maybe you should," Alea said, rolling her eyes.

"Al, don't get distracted," Lexey said, voice monotone.

Meanwhile, Natalie was shrieking in rage, trying to pry the other girl's legs off of her while simultaneously keeping Lexey from cutting her neck.

"CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME GET THIS LITTLE GREMLIN OFF OF ME?!" Natalie screamed.

Terresa started to snicker.

"Good going there, Lex-"

She was cut off as Ivy shot her in the face, and she stumbled back.

Ivy spun with ease, moving like a dancer as she evaded a strike from an invisible Stacey.

"Do try harder than that to conceal yourself," Ivy said with a small smirk. "Was that good taunting?" she asked her girlfriends.

Rachel was far too distracted to respond, and the only thing she got from Natalie was another annoyed scream.

"Nat, do you need some help there?" Rachel asked.

"THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN ASKING FOR FOR THE PAST TWENTY MINUTES!" Natalie shrieked.

"Fine!" Rachel screamed, dashing back a few feet and being pursued by Alea.

"Ives?"

"Hmm?" Ivy asked, her eyes closed as she sent a punch to Stacey's chest. Stacey groaned.

"You know what I want."

Rachel turned on her speed reserves and took off at full speed toward her girlfriend, dashing so fast that she looked like a blur to everyone around her, including Alea who failed to follow after her.

Ivy moved as fast as she could, nowhere near as quickly as Rachel did, and grabbed Terresa.

Terresa let out a sound of shock while Ivy planted her feet, swinging Terresa around so that she stood in front of her.

Rachel leapt into the air, using her strength reserves as well as she pushed off Terresa. Ivy ducked down while Rachel flew through the air. Meanwhile, Terresa was sent careening backward over Ivy.

Ivy spun to stand over Terresa, pointing her gun at her.

"Thanks, Ives!" Rachel called as she connected with Natalie's back, grabbing onto the faunus' back.

Natalie let out a shriek of shock.

Ivy smiled at Rachel's words, pulling the trigger rapidly on both of her guns.

Terresa let out a scream as her Aura shattered.

Ivy spun as she heard Stacey's rapid footsteps racing toward her. She shifted her guns into a sword and prepared for the other woman's electric weapon.

Meanwhile, Natalie was trying to stay airborne as her girlfriend, Rachel, scrambled toward her front to defend her from Lexey.

Natalie felt Rachel's fist connect with her face, and she let out a grunt.

"Rach!" she said, but her voice was muffled as the two women fought on top of her. That was probably the least provocative way those words had ever been used.

"I'm saving you, Nat, now be quiet!" Rachel replied, sending a punch toward Lexey and finally causing the member of team ATLS to stop trying to cut Natalie as she scrambled to defend herself.

"Then hurry up because I have no idea how much longer I can hold this up!" Natalie replied, glad that Rach had finally removed her fist from her face, but still struggling to keep herself, and the two girls that were clutching her like baby koalas, from falling to the ground. It was exceedingly difficult, especially considering they were both hindering her wings, which were sort of the only things that were keeping the three of them from hitting the ground.

"I'm working on it, love bat!" Rachel replied, scrambling so that she was seating on Natalie's shoulders. "Hold your breath?"

"Wait wh-"

Rachel locked her legs around her neck and suddenly bent over backwards so that her back was resting against Natalie's own.

Her hands landed on Lexey's legs, which were still wrapped around her girlfriend's waist.

"Let go you little gremlin!" Rachel growled, using her strength reserves to claw at her legs.

Lexey let out a groan as Rachel got a hold of her ankles, prying both of them off of Natalie's waist.

"Now!" she called.

Natalie let go of Lexey's hands, which she had been holding onto to keep the other girl from stabbing her, and Lexey fell toward the ground.

Rachel sat back up and relaxed her legs, causing Natalie to take a deep, labored breath.

"Wasn't there," a gasp, "a better way to do that?"

"Nope!" Rachel replied, patting Natalie on the head and giving her a wry grin. "Wanna go finish her off together?"

Natalie smirked and swooped down low to the ground.

She turned her sword into a gun, shooting it at Lexey, who did a quick backhand spring to avoid a few. But a couple hit home, and she let out a groan.

Meanwhile, Rachel leapt off of Natalie's shoulders and slammed against Lexey, using her quarter staff against her chest.

Lexey grunted and tried to get Rachel off of her, but Rachel dug her heels into the ground and continued to use her quarter staff to attack the other girl.

Natalie hurried forward and used her rifle to shoot at Lexey.

After a minute of fighting against Rachel, her Aura finally shattered, and her eyes shifted from black to brown immediately.

She groaned and curled up in a ball.

"Sorry about that, Natalie," she muttered, giving her an apologetic smile.

Natalie huffed.

"You should be," she muttered.

"If you two are done taking care of Lexey, I could use some assistance," Ivy said idly.

The two turned back to look at their girlfriend.

Ivy spun and slammed her rifle butt against an invisible Stacey before nudging Alea's hand. The nudge caused the other girl to change the trajectory of her sword, slamming it against a stumbling Stacey.

"Stac!" Alea cried in shock.

"Watch where you're swinging that thing!" Stacey growled.

Ivy slammed her boot into Alea's stomach before she transformed her rifles into a singular, thin sword that she swung at the team leader.

"Maybe that wouldn't be an issue if you weren't invisible," Alea replied with ease, grabbing Ivy's hand before her sword could hit her.

Ivy twisted her wrist aggressively, causing Alea's to twist also, painfully so.

Alea grunted and let go of Ivy as the member of team ORIN spun, ducking down as Stacey tried to use her swaton to electrocute her.

While low to the ground, Ivy kicked out and took Stacey's legs out from under her.

Stacey struck the ground and Ivy leapt over as Alea brought her sword down, attempting to hit her with it.

Stacey cursed before she rolled to the side, hardly avoiding the attack from her own girlfriend.

"Sorry, Stac!" Alea called before she hurried forward after Ivy, who leapt out of the way of an attack like a lithe cat.

"Oh my dust," Rachel muttered, watching Ivy as she swayed and spun to avoid the attacks, moving like a trained dancer, her weapon a part of her as she twirled.

"We... we should help her," Natalie whispered, but her eyes were wide as she flushed a light shade of pink.

"Or, hear me out, we watch for another minute and revel in how hot and awesome our girlfriend is," Rachel replied.

Natalie started to nod, but stopped when a loud call shocked her out of her state.

"Hey! You two stop staring and help her before she gets her Aura broken!" Oscar called.

"Right!" Natalie cried, her face flushing a dark shade of red.

"DUST!" Stacey cursed as she dropped to the ground, rolling a bit to put out the flames on her jacket.

Rachel snickered, giving her girlfriend a smirk.

"You finally ready to utilize our greatest weapon?" she asked.

Natalie groaned.

"Do we have to?"

"You look beautiful."

"CAN THAT WOMAN NOT CONTROL HER SEMBLANCE?!" Stacey screamed as the fire started up once again.

"Honestly?" Rachel called. "I think Ives and I control it better than she does."

The fire started up again, just as Stacey had put it out.

Stacey suddenly turned off her semblance, and Alea hurried toward her, trying to put the flames out, but Ivy put herself between the two.

"If you two can take care of her, I can hold Alea off for a little while."

"Badass," Rachel muttered before she shook her head, focusing on Stacey as the girl scrambled to her feet.

More fire started up as Natalie focused her semblance around the woman.

"I really wish you weren't out already, Ter!" she called.

"Me too!" Terresa replied, making Stacey laugh quietly as she ducked, avoiding a burst of flame that shot from Natalie's hand.

Natalie and Rachel advanced quickly and Stacey was backed up against the wall.

She turned invisible in an attempt to get away, but Rachel shut her eyes and used her hearing reserves to find where the girl was, swinging her quarter staff with great strength and connected it with Stacey's chest.

Stacey was sent flying back, slamming against the wall with a loud cry of pain, her Aura breaking instantly.

She groaned.

"Looks like it's up to you, babe!" Lexey called, leaning against Terresa on the side lines.

Alea looked around for a moment, a sad look on her face when she saw that all three of her teammates and girlfriends were out of the spar. She closed her eyes for a moment (not stopping her from blocking an attack from Ivy).

"Wow! We really turned this around. At the beginning, I thought you three had us beat, but now we've pretty much got this in the bag!" Oscar cried.

Terresa and Lexey snickered.

"Is that what you think? Well...," Terresa smirked, "Alea's just been getting warmed up."

"That can't be true," Oscar said.

Lexey smirked as Alea's eyes reopened and she moved forward, her form seeming to ooze with confidence as she stalked toward Ivy.

Ivy raised an eyebrow as her girlfriends raced forward and joined her at her sides.

"You two ready to take her down?" Rachel asked, cracking her knuckles before she spun her quarterstaff in a tight circle.

"You know it!" Natalie replied.

"Be careful," Ivy muttered, watching the smirk that grew across Alea's face.

Alea took a slow, calculated step toward the three, and Natalie hesitated at the cool confidence. She seemed... taller than before... was that possible?

Rachel seemed similarly worried and she took a half step backward before she forced herself to stop.

"What's... what's going on?" Rachel asked slowly, slipping her hand into Ivy's own subconsciously.

Alea started to glow a distinctive blue.

"Alea decided to use her semblance more... effectively," Ivy said.

"Wait... has she not been using it this whole time?" Rachel asked quietly.

"She's always using her semblance, but now she's just... amplifying it," Ivy replied, tilting her head to the side just slightly as she thought.

"Alea seems like the flirty equivalent of Ivy," Rachel said, trying not to focus on Alea's imposing presence as she stalked toward them, a small smirk on her face.

Alea spun her sword in a slow circle, the hilt stopping after a moment as she let the sword drag behind her, creating an ominous sound as it scraped against the ground.

"You know," Alea brought the sword back up and put the tip of her finger against the sharp end of the blade, "you might have had a better chance before you took out my teammates, but now...," Alea smirk broadened as she came ever closer, "well, I guess I'll just have to show you."

Oscar stared at Alea in shock, eyes wide.

"Oh dust," Terresa muttered, "I didn't realize this last time when she was beating us up, but she looks _so_ hot with her semblance flared."

Stacey smacked Terresa on the arm, a light blush on her face.

"Pay attention," she hissed.

"Oh, don't lie to me, I know you think it's hot," Terresa muttered.

"That's... not important," Stacey said, still blushing.

"Just like it's 'not important' that you have a thing for Lexey's semblance?" Terresa asked.

Stacey glared at her, but her face was red as could be.

"That's not... that's not true!"

Her voice was higher than normal, which made Lexey look over at her, raising an eyebrow.

"You do? But it's like me without emotions!" Lexey said.

Stacey refused to look at her.

"Are you _surprised_? Stacey herself doesn't have emotion half the time," Terresa said, making Lexey snort while Stacey elbowed her in the ribs.

Lexey gave Stacey a small, smug smirk as she leaned closer to her girlfriend, setting her head on her shoulder.

"Well, if that's how you feel... I guess maybe my semblance _would_ help me focus more on school work and stuff."

Stacey blushed, but there was a small smile that was growing on her lips.

Their attention was drawn back to the fight as Alea finally raised her sword meaningfully, close to the remaining three members of team ORIN.

"You ladies ready for a show?" she asked, smirking at her girlfriends, who all had varying smiles on their faces.

"That's it, I'm putting an end to this!" Rachel growled, trying to ignore the intimidating look on the team leader's face.

She dashed forward with the use of her semblance, using a part of her remaining speed reserve, which, she hated to note, was running pretty low.

She swung her staff with inhuman speed, and it connected with Alea's side.

Alea didn't so much as grunt, but her hand shot out and snatched onto Rachel's wrist, tugging the other girl toward her.

Rachel yanked her hand out of Alea's, but the team leader didn't put up much of a fight against her, which made Rachel a bit confused. Why would she garb onto her hand only to let it go at the first tug?!

Alea spun as Rachel considered for half a second, slamming her sword against Natalie as she swooped down from above.

Natalie let a grunt as she was pushed back several feet in the air.

Rachel leapt forward as if to help her girlfriend, but Alea was already spinning in a tight circle to block her attack. Rachel was forced to use her reserves again, her hand shooting up to grab the sword and hold it in place with her extra strength that she'd been saving.

Alea just smirked at her before she ducked down, a gunshot from Natalie shooting over her head.

Just then, another form appeared, and Alea's gaze shot to her, not paying attention as she dodged another attack from Rachel.

Ivy stepped forward idly, not seeming to notice as both her girlfriends struggled to get a hit on the team leader in front of them.

Alea's focus was still on Ivy as well, her highly flared semblance extending her Aura so that she could sense the other girls as they swung their their weapons.

Alea's smirk widened, but to Ivy's eyes it was practically an enthusiastic grin.

Ivy loved her girlfriends very much, but they didn't seem to... _understand_ Alea's semblance. At least not like Ivy did. Both of them had semblances that were extensions of their Auras, semblances that made them practically impossible for anyone else to understand without hours of dedicated research and conversations. Semblances that made them... difficult to be around sometimes.

Ivy could understand that, and she felt as if that made her the only one that had a chance figuring out Alea's weakness.

Meanwhile, Alea was walking toward her at the same pace she had been a minute ago, not paying attention as her sword spun at almost impossible speed, occasionally having to dive forward or duck to avoid the strikes.

"Hey, Ives!" she called. To Rachel and Natalie, it sounded smug. To Ivy, it was a friendly greeting.

"Did you know that aloha means both hello and goodbye?"

Alea raised an eyebrow as she smirked at her.

"Is that a threat? I always wondered which one of us would win in a fight."

Ivy smiled dazedly, enjoying the way Alea was able to see through her confusing words and understand what she meant underneath it intuitively.

It was a nice bond that the two of them shared.

"This isn't a one on one," Rachel growled, her arm glowing a brilliant gray as it shot toward Alea.

Alea took the hit in her shoulder, her walk never slowing as her gaze remained on Ivy.

When Rachel went to pull her arm back again, Alea caught it, sensing that Rachel had deactivated her semblance for a moment, and planted her feet before swinging Rachel in a circle, throwing her up to hit Natalie as the faunus flew.

Alea let out a laugh as she heard Rachel's cry of shock, but she didn't take her eyes off of Ivy.

Ivy was walking toward her with the same determined pace.

When the two got closer, Ivy finally drew her weapon.

"Mind giving me a second?" Alea asked.

"You know I can't let you have that," Ivy said with a small smile.

Alea grinned.

"True, true, I shouldn't have asked."

Alea then spun and caught Rachel as she attempted to punch her. She sensed immediately that Rachel's speed reserve had run out, and she slammed Rachel down against the ground, bringing her knee down onto her chest.

Natalie threw herself forward in an attempt to save her girlfriend, but Alea instantly turned her sword into a rifle, shooting down at Rachel.

Rachel tried to turn on her speed reverses to spin her quarter staff (like she usually did to block bullets), but found it was empty, just as Alea had known it would be.

The bullet hit home and the Aura broke.

Natalie leapt at Alea, but she rolled backward blindly so that Natalie missed. Ivy had been attempting to shoot her as well, but stopped as soon as she sensed Alea's intent to move and hesitated.

"Ives, you just let her take me out?" Rachel groaned.

"Maybe if you hadn't let her get in your head and make you use all your reserves at the beginning you wouldn't have gotten out so early," Ivy replied evenly, giving her girlfriend a small smirk.

Natalie laughed, but Ivy rolled her eyes, knowing that the faunus was no better.

"You both came in here looking to fight her," Ivy said, "and now you are. You let your emotions get the better of you."

"Sorry, baby," Rachel said as she struggled to get to her feet.

"You should be," Ivy said, her voice distracted as she shot a bullet at thin air.

A moment later, Alea took a step backward to avoid a hit from Natalie, putting herself in the way of Ivy's bullet, which hit her in the chest.

"Nice, Ives," Alea said as she spun her sword idly in one hand, which then swung forward to hit Natalie in the side.

Natalie groaned and let her eyes fall shut in concentration. A moment later, flames appeared around Alea. Alea walked through them, not paying attention at the inconsequential amount of her Aura that it seeped.

Natalie had a look of shock, scrambling to avoid the attack that Alea sent her way, a shot from her rifle.

Alea smirked as Natalie groaned, stumbling on her feet.

Ivy's pace hurried a bit to get her even closer to the ever moving form of Alea, who seemed to dance to a song that only she could hear. Ivy recognized that movement, knowing that Alea was in the zone just as she herself was. Ivy was bouncing back and forth as well.

Natalie let out a growl before she dashed forward to swing her double sided sword at Alea. Her form wasn't as good as it was usually, Ivy could tell, and her anger was getting the best of her as she tried to advance.

Alea danced around the weapon as if Natalie, and by extension her sword, were standing still around her.

Finally, Alea shot her hand forward and grabbed Natalie by the hand, squeezing hard on it so that she caused Natalie to drop her weapon.

Alea's foot shot out to catch the weapon, kicking it up so that she could catch it with her left hand. She swung the faunus' weapon forward and slashed her with it.

Natalie let out a gasp as her Aura crumbled.

She fell to the ground, and Alea dropped her weapon beside her with a small smirk on her face.

A bullet shot her in the back, and Alea turned so that she could face her final opponent.

"I think we both always knew that it would come down to the two of us," Alea said.

"We did, didn't we?" Ivy replied with a smirk.

Alea laughed quietly, a small fond look in her eyes. To Natalie and Rachel, who were laying on the ground, it looked like a flirtatious smirk, as if saying "we both knew it would be you and me... _together_."

They both sat and watched as Ivy and Alea finally reached one another without any interruptions, without any teammates, without any distractions, just the two of them and their weapons, which were both held at their sides in what seemed to be grasped in loose grips.

There was a beat of silence in which the other members of team ORIN and ATLS seemed to wonder if the two were going to fight, but, with a sudden flash, the two shot toward one another at top speed.

Ivy shot at Alea with her rifle while Alea spun her sword and slammed it against Ivy's chest. The two exchanged blows back and forth, Ivy able to read exactly what Alea was going to do and where she was going to be. But Alea moved so fast that, at some points, it didn't even matter what Ivy knew. Alea was able to absorb the gunshots and the strikes that came from Ivy's sword. The two danced around one another like they were on a dance floor, their feet spinning and twirling in a circle between each other.

Their teammates watched, struggling to follow where the two were and who was winning, how much of their Aura was left and how many bullets they'd wasted. How many strikes they'd hit and how many they had dodged was a mystery to anyone, including the two that were fighting currently.

Seconds turned to minutes and minutes could have turned to hours, but nobody could tell as they watched the two students, their movements enticing and impossible to take their eyes off of.

The two girls completely understood one another's semblances now, able to anticipate their next move in a way that Ivy herself couldn't with most people. They were light on their feet as they dove and dived and spun and twirled circles around each other.

They slowly chipped away at each other's Auras and stamina.

Finally, the two breathing heavily and sweating as they struggled to stand on their feet despite their continued dancing around one another, each shot a bullet.

Ivy knew where Alea's gunshot would end up, striking her right in the chest. But as she attempted to get out of the way, she stumbled and started to fall, the bullet hitting her slightly higher than it would have anyways.

Alea felt the bullet strike her in the stomach and she doubled over.

Simultaneously, their Auras broke and they hit the ground at the same time.

There was a long moment of stunned silence as the two teams stared at their respective final members, who were both laying on the ground motionlessly.

Ivy and Alea both took labored breath as they finally moved a bit, inching toward each other.

"The Battle of Verdun was the longest battle in history. Three-hundred and two days," Ivy said between pants.

"That _did_ take forever, didn't it?" Alea replied, giggling just slightly as she started to stumble to her feet, breathing heavily. As she stood, she reached down and pulled up Ivy as well, holding her friend in her arms as if worried that Ivy might fall.

Ivy smiled distractedly at the action, knowing that Alea needed just as much stabilizing as she herself did.

The beat of silence was suddenly broken as the two teams burst forward to check on their final two members, who were still struggling to stay on their feet.

Alea let out an almost drunken giggle, staring down at Ivy as their friends hurried over to them.

"That was awesome," she said, giving her an innocent, beaming smile.

"It was, wasn't it?"

Ivy leaned against Alea's side as they stood there. The two almost fell because of the action, but suddenly arms wrapped around Terresa's waist to stabilize her.

"It was great, stop rubbing it in," Stacey said, rolling her eyes as she looked at her team leader. Despite her words, there was a wide grin on her face.

"That was one of the coolest things I've ever seen!" Lexey cried, going to throw her arms around Alea, but Stacey stopped her so that she wouldn't cause their team leader and girlfriend to go falling to the ground with Ivy in her arms.

"You alright, Ives?" Rachel asked worriedly.

Ivy gave her an almost drunken grin.

"Everything's so _weird_ ," she muttered.

"She's fine," Alea said with a blinding grin, running a hand through Ivy's hair.

Rachel was about to snatch her girlfriend into her arms and growl at the team leader to get away from her, but hesitated when she saw the beaming smile on her face.

"You guys were _all_ awesome!" Alea cried, bouncing up and down in excitement before she sagged at the action, yawning.

"Thanks...," Natalie said slowly.

Alea gave her her brightest smile.

"That's her without her Aura. Her semblance makes her seem like a suave flirt but she's really just a sweetheart," Lexey whispered, a fond look on her face as she watched their team leader.

Rachel and Natalie shared a look before they glanced at Alea, who was giggling at something Ivy had said with a brilliant smile on her face. They had clearly misread the girl...

A few minutes later when the two teams were walking through the hall, Ivy and Alea still holding onto one another, Rachel finally spoke.

"Ives, I didn't know you had that in you! Where'd that come from?!"

Ivy laughed quietly, glancing at Alea who gave her a lopsided grin.

"I've always been able to do that. Just didn't see why that was relevant."

"Yeah, I get it," Alea said, shrugging. "Doesn't matter most the time."

Alea and Ivy shared a smile.

There was a beat of silence.

"HOW WOULD THAT NOT BE RELEVANT?!" Rachel shrieked.

Ivy and Alea just laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think that I always knew that the real fight was between Ivy and Alea lol. They're just kinda two sides of the same coin and that was cool to look at.
> 
> Also, favorite moment? Lexey holding Natalie while Natalie shrieked like a crazy person.


	89. The Social Event of the Season

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked it! I was especially proud of how I portrayed Coco actually! Sorry it took so long, it's like 3.5k words
> 
> Also, I have a new hilarious twist two chapters from now, and I don't feel nervous writing it cause I'm like super sure that nobody will figure it out (even though you all are annoyingly good at doing that :P)

"Do we really have to go?" Weiss whined.

"Of course we have to go!" Yang replied.

"But _why_?" Weiss groaned, holding her stomach as she laid there on the bed.

"Because our friends are getting married and you care greatly for them so you're going to be there, even if your stomach hurts a little," Blake said, her voice monotone as she helped Ruby to her feet.

"A _little_?!" Weiss hissed at her wife, glaring daggers at the faunus as she rolled to her feet. "Blake, I'm twenty-seven weeks pregnant and _your_ children are giving me **extreme** stomach pain right now! So don't tell me about having _a little stomach ache_ ," Weiss growled.

Blake held up her hands at Weiss' suddenly menacing look, glancing at Yang, who gave her a small smirk from a few feet away.

"You should be nicer to your pregnant wife, Blake," the blond said, insufferably smug as she stood there, arms crossed.

Blake glared at her.

Yang brushed past her, whispering in her ear.

"And _that's_ how it feels," she hissed before she hurried forward.

Blake gave her a scowl before she wrapped her arm around Ruby, pulling her toward the exit of the room.

"Can't we just wait a few more minutes?" Weiss groaned, still laying on the bed, clutching her stomach.

Yang stooped down to pick the former heiress up and carrying her out of the bedroom.

Weiss held her around the shoulders with a quiet mumble (something about still not wanting to go).

"No we can't just wait a few more minutes, we don't have the time. Don't you want to be there to see Velvet and Coco get married?" Blake replied, stepping outside.

Weiss grumbled.

"Hmm?" Blake prompted.

"I said fine!" Weiss growled as she was set down by Yang.

Blake slid into the driver's seat with a small smirk on her face. Yang gave her a small, playful glare as she was forced to sit between her sister and Weiss on the bench front seat.

"I forgot how suspicious this thing looks," Weiss grumbled as she sat down by the passenger door.

"I think it's great!" Ruby said cheerfully, leaning over and setting her head on Blake's shoulder as they drove.

-

Coco paced back and forth, heart hammering in her chest. They'd been planning this for months now, and their teammates were making sure that everything went perfectly today for them.

Despite the beautiful wedding she had planned, and the even **more** beautiful woman she was going to marry, Coco felt like she was about to faint from her nerves.

"Coco, calm down," Fox's slightly amused voice called from where he sat on a chair, "what's your problem?"

"Problem? What? I don't have a problem!" Coco said, her voice far too high pitched as she jumped, staring at her blind teammate.

"Coco, you're lucky you're not in your wedding dress because you probably would have sweat through it by now. Not to mention the fact that I can hear your heart beating from over here," her friend said.

"First of all, that's not true," Coco hissed, but she hesitated, her self doubt making her wonder if she _would_ have. "And second of all, that's not physically possible."

"Hey, I'm not telling you the laws of physics, just what I can hear."

Coco groaned and fell back against a chair, but her leg started to bounce up and down almost immediately.

Fox rolled his eyes as Coco sighed heavily, reaching up a hand to run through her hair.

Fox leapt across the room and snatched onto Coco's hand to stop her from doing so.

"Coco, they spent _three damn hours_ doing your hair for you! I am **not** letting you mess it up after that!" he hissed.

Coco just stared at him weakly. Her sunglasses were off, somewhere scattered in the room with the rest of her stuff, and she felt as if a part of her had been missing since she'd taken them off. She briefly wondered if she could wear them to the wedding, but she knew that Velvet would probably call off the entire wedding when she saw the team leader walking down the aisle in a gorgeous wedding dress with perfect hair-

And a pair of sunglasses over her eyes that she was wearing because she didn't want her fear and nervousness to be shown in her eyes.

Coco loved to wear her sunglasses not just because they made her look badass (which they did), but also because they gave her something that she could hide behind when the going got rough and she didn't want to show her emotions. Today just so happened to be both the day she couldn't wear them, and the one where she was going to be overwhelmed by the most emotions she'd felt since...

Well... most emotions she'd ever felt, maybe.

"Alright, alright!" Fox cried, grabbing Coco on the arms and stabilizing her as she started to bounce her legs again. "You need to take a deep breath."

Coco sucked a breath of air into her lungs.

A beat of silence.

"Dear dust, Coco! You have to breathe _out_ too! What's wrong with you?!"

"I'm nervous!" the team leader cried defensively. She tried to stand, perhaps to go pace again, but her teammate grabbed her again and forced her to stay seated.

"Coco, why are you so nervous?! I _know_ you love Velvet way too much to ever think this is a mistake, dear dust, I've heard you talk in your sleep about her before!"

_/_

_Coco rolled over again in her dorm room bed, making Fox groan quietly. He was trying to sleep, but Coco kept moving in her sleep, clearly restless. If not able to hear her heartbeat and know that she was asleep, he would have assumed that she was just having trouble slipping into the land of slumber._

_Just as he was considering suffocating Coco with her own pillow, a voice interrupted the silence of the room._

_"Velvet," she muttered under her breath. Fox stared at the team leader._

_Coco rolled over._

_"Velvet," she breathed again, a small smile on her face. She quietly laughed. "I..."_

_Coco fell silent, and he thought she might have been finished for the night._

_"I love you."_

_Fox laughed so loudly that Velvet woke up and asked him what was going on. He would have told her, but couldn't stop laughing long enough to say._

_/_

Coco blushed at Fox bringing up the old incident. He hadn't been able to tell Velvet at the time, but Coco had gotten an earful from him after that night.

"What I mean is, what's upsetting you, because it can't be the overwhelming fear that you're making a mistake."

Coco scoffed.

"Of course it isn't! It's just...," Coco hesitated and looked away from her teammate.

"Just that," Fox prompted Coco.

"What if _I'm_ not the one making the mistake, but _she_ is?"

There was a beat of silence as her best man stared at her unseeingly, his blind eyes seeming impossibly judgmental despite their inability to know what they were looking at.

"Coco, what are you saying?!"

"I... I don't know! She's just... sweet and nice and I'm... me!" Coco gestured at herself. "I dated pretty much every girl that went to my school before Beacon, didn't notice her until we were put on the same team at school, and-"

Fox rolled his eyes and reached his hand up, covering Coco's mouth with it, sighing irritably at his team leader's ramblings.

"First of all, yes, she is definitely the best person I've ever met and I still can't believe you didn't want anything to do with her back then," Coco winced and her friend rolled his blind eyes yet again. "Second of all, you're amazing too. You're funny, confident, weirdly a lady killer even though I think you're nothing but cheesy," Coco laughed and wiped at her eyes, "but in all seriousness... Coco, you're my best friend, and I'm here right now because I care for you greatly. You're a great person and I can't stand here listening to you insult yourself like this."

Coco watched him for a moment.

"Are you serious?" she asked hesitantly.

Fox bumped Coco's shoulder with his own, giving her a small smile.

"Of course I am. Now let's get you in that dress of yours because you're getting married to the woman of your dreams."

Coco's eyes suddenly widened dramatically, and Fox barely stopped himself from laughing.

"Oh my dust," Coco whispered. "I'm getting married."

"Yes, you are."

"I'm getting _married_!"

"You've been engaged for months."

"I'm getting married **today**!"

"Yes, as we just went over."

"I'm getting married to _Velvet_!"

"Who else would you be marrying?"

"Oh my dust I have to finish getting ready!"

"That's what I just said."

"Fox, We can't keep standing here! Help me get ready!"

"Coco, are you even listening to me?"

"Why are you still standing there?!"

"So you really aren't listening to me," his voice raised in a playful way to imitate her. "'Blah blah blah, I'm Coco Adel, and I'm supposed to be the coolest person in the world but I'm freaking out because of my wedding!'"

Coco didn't pay any attention to him.

-

Velvet was buzzing with excitement, grinning up at Yatsu, who watched her with the smallest fond smile on his face.

"Oh my dust! I can't wait!" she cried.

Velvet was already dressed in her wedding gown, had been for over an hour now. Coco might be taking a long time to get ready for the wedding, both emotionally and physically, but Velvet had all but sped through her wedding preparations.

"I know. I've heard," Yatsu said, raising an eyebrow as Velvet started to almost bounce up and down where she stood in front of him.

Velvet let out a sigh before she stopped in front of a chair, starting to fall backwards onto it. Her friend caught her before she could, stopping her from messing any of her wedding prep up.

"I can't believe I'm getting **married**! And to _the_ Coco Adel!" Velvet let out a laugh as she looked up at Yatsu. Typically, Velvet didn't let herself be so giddy, as she was normally too shy to want any attention on herself, but today was, understandably, an exception. "Did I ever tell you that she was my first schoolgirl crush?"

"Yes, many times, especially today," Yatsu said.

Velvet didn't pay any attention to his response.

"She was _amazing_! So calm and confident in herself... but she was always alternating between the other girls in school."

"Yes, I've also heard about that."

"And then I told myself to drop it. I was just a shy little faunus and she was _the_ Coco Adel! She was the coolest person in school, and for once that title belonged to someone who **deserved** it! She would never look at me twice, right?'

"Clearly she would considering the two of you are getting married today."

"And I told myself to move on. But then we came to Beacon and we were teammates! She didn't even know who I was, but... I still couldn't get over her! And now...," Velvet suddenly felt her smile drop just slightly, her eyes watering, "and now I'm finally going to get to marry her. But I'm not... I'm not marrying _the_ Coco Adel, I'm marrying Coco, the most amazing, sweetest person I've ever met."

"Yes, you are marrying Coco. Coco Adel. Your soon to be wife."

Velvet let out a quiet laugh and looked off into the distance idly.

"She's so perfect," she breathed. "I still can't believe that she wants to marry _me_!"

She let her head fall back further and set her head on Yatsu's shoulder. Velvet let out a laugh, beaming.

"Of course she wants to marry you, Velvet. You're an amazing person. You're sweet and kind and one of the best people I've ever met. Coco is **lucky** to have found someone as good as you."

Velvet gave him another smile, tears in her eyes.

"Aw, thank you so much!" she breathed.

There was a beat of silence.

"Do you want me to check?" Yatsu asked, shaking his head sufferingly.

Velvet nodded quickly.

Every few minutes, Velvet had been sending her best man out of the room so that she could have him check if the other bride-to-be was ready.

"You do know that the wedding is on a tight schedule that you yourself helped plan and her being ready early has nothing to do to that."

Velvet nodded, but her best man could tell that she didn't exactly mean it.

Yatsu stepped outside for a moment, leaving Velvet to idly stare after him, knowing that she wouldn't be able to see Coco, but wishing to anyways.

She knew that she wasn't _supposed_ to see her in her wedding dress yet, but Velvet wanted to anyways.

A moment later, the best man stuck his head in the room.

"She's ready."

Velvet jumped to her feet, almost falling over in her haste.

Yatsu held his hand up to stop her.

"You do know that there's still half an hour until the wedding starts, right?"

Velvet sighed and fell back against her seat. Yatsu had already called the hairstylist, knowing that Velvet would mess it up _somehow_.

Now Velvet just had to wait another thirty minutes. She could do that, right? It's not like this was the end of the world.

A beat.

This was the end of the world. She wasn't sure if she could wait that long...

Velvet wondered if Coco felt the same...

-

Coco let out a groan, starting to flop over to the side. Fox caught Coco before she could mess up her dress.

"How much longer?" Coco whined.

"It's been exactly thirty seconds since you last asked me, so twenty minutes and thirty seconds."

Coco moaned again and tried to flop to the other side, causing her best man to scramble over and catch her, yet again.

"If I die waiting, tell Velvet I love her."

"Why are you always so dust damn dramatic?!"

-

The time had finally come, and Velvet was abuzz with anxiety, her heart racing as she stepped out of the room.

Yatsu held out his arm for Velvet, and she took it excitedly.

-

Coco waited anxiously at the alter, craning a bit to look over the audience.

"Calm down, she's not leaving you at the alter," Fox said with a snort.

There was a beat of silence, Coco's eyes widening.

"Are... are you sure?"

"Oh my dust!" Fox hissed as quietly as he could. "Get a hold of yourself, Coco! You're a badass, so calm down!"

Coco might have been affected by his words, if she had heard them that is. She was instantly distracted as another figure appeared.

She gasped in shock, heart hammering in her chest as her throat constricted.

Velvet was walking down the aisle, dressed in a brilliant white dress that seemed to glow in the midday sun. It had a short train, unlike Coco's, which was far more fancy than her partner's. Despite Velvet's being not as nice, she looked stunning in it. The simplistic clothing didn't deter from her beauty, and Coco thought that it might actually enhance it more than the nicest dress in the world. It didn't draw attention from the truly gorgeous part; Velvet. Coco knew in that moment that if Velvet had walked up dressed in clothing she'd found in a dumpster, and she'd still find her undeniably stunning.

Meanwhile, Velvet almost swallowed her own tongue looking up at the other girl, who stood at the alter. Coco was in a fancy dress, one far more so than any Velvet had ever looked at when she was buying her own a few months ago, and it only seemed to enhance her normal beauty.

Velvet would have gone on and on about her soon-to-be wife's appearance in her head, but she found that she was at the alter suddenly.

The whole ceremony seemed to go in a blur until the officiant turned to Coco.

"Would you like to say some words?" they asked.

Velvet didn't really remember most of the ceremony, the whole thing a blur as the officiant mostly addressed the rest of the people in attendance. The faunus' attention had been focused on Coco the entire time, and she could tell that Coco's had been on her as well, considering the team leader jumped just slightly as the officiant addressed the two of them directly.

"Uh, right, yes!" Velvet found herself beaming as Coco fumbled slightly. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought that Coco had reached toward where her pocket in her normal clothes were to find her notes for her written vows (Coco had). Coco took one final breath, her eyes falling shut for just a moment before they opened, looking over Velvet as if trying to remember every moment with as much detail as possible.

"Velvet, when I met you... I was the worst version of me. I was annoying and pompous and rude and... well, you knew me. And... despite all of the parts of me that I don't like, you were able to fall in love with me. And I'll never understand how I was lucky enough to have you in my life, much less as my wife. You're the best person I've ever met. You're kind and sweet and so, _so_ understanding. You're the person I've been looking for all my life, the woman that completes me in ways that I never thought I needed. You're my dream girl, but you're more than that. You're the love of my life, everything I've ever wanted or needed," Coco had already been crying, but more tears welled up, and she sniffed slightly. Typically, she wouldn't have allowed others to see her crying like this, but now... now it didn't seem to matter. Without her sunglasses, she had always felt emotionally vulnerable, that she was showing all her weaknesses. But now, standing up here with Velvet... she felt like, in a strange way, none of that mattered, because Velvet was standing in front of her, and she always made Coco feel safer, stronger even, as if there was nothing she couldn't do with Velvet there.

"And I...," Coco took a deep breath. "It's the greatest regret of my life that I didn't give you a chance when we were younger. Because you're... you're the greatest thing that has ever happened to me."

Velvet reached forward and grabbed Coco's hands in her own with a small smile, tears in her eyes.

"Coco, from your speech, I can tell that you don't seem to think, for some insane reason, that you're worthy of me. But that's just... I hate to say it, but that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. You're strong and confident and the most amazing woman I've ever met. Even though you didn't seem to notice I existed when we met, I always found myself drawn to you. When I was younger, I thought it was a silly crush, and I tried to move on, but I never could. I think that's because a little part of me always knew that I wasn't just waiting for my crush to notice me, I was waiting for my future wife. Because you complete me too. You're everything that I've ever wanted too, and I always knew that."

Coco almost forgot about the entire ceremony right there, instead wanting to pull the other girl into her arms and kiss her silly. But the officiant made Coco halt.

"Do you, Coco, take Velvet to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do!" she said embarrassingly quickly, blushing just slightly at the quiet giggle from the rabbit faunus.

"And do you, Velvet, take Coco to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do," she whispered, leaning closer.

Coco grabbed one wedding ring while Velvet grabbed the other, both slipping the rings onto their partner's fingers.

"I now pronounce you wife and wife. You may now kiss the brides."

Coco immediately shot forward, grabbing onto Velvet's waist and pulling her closer.

Velvet beamed as Coco dipped her dramatically (of course Coco had to do the dramatic dip) and connected their lips with a mix of excitement and gentle awe.

There was cheering behind them, but neither seemed to notice.

Coco deepened the kiss and the cheering slowly eased. Velvet had grabbed onto her new wife's face, holding it with reverence.

Finally, Yatsu cleared his throat, and Velvet tried to pull back.

Coco held her tighter, making Velvet giggle against her lips, finding the fact that her wife (her _wife_!) didn't want to let her go adorable.

Finally, they pulled apart, and beamed at each other.

-

After the marriage certificate was signed and dinner was finished, it was time for the first dance.

But first, Coco and Velvet had to have a quiet arguement.

"You should throw it," Velvet hissed.

"But you picked out the bouquet," Coco replied. "You loved it."

"Yeah, because it brought out your eyes."

Coco flushed while Velvet gave her a small, fond look.

"I love you," Coco breathed before she grabbed the flowers, turning around so that she was blind to the group.

She took a moment before giving Velvet a beaming smile.

Coco tossed the flowers over her head.

A beat.

"Ow!" a familiar voice called. "What in the name of **dust** just hit me in the face?!" Fox called, snatching the flowers right before they could hit they ground.

"The bouquet," Yatsu's voice replied, slightly less monotone than usual.

Coco and Velvet turned with wide smiles on their faces, finding that Fox was smirking.

"Oh, if that's the case...," he turned to face Yatsu, one hand snaking up his chest until it reached his tie. He then yanked on it, causing Yatsu to lean down far enough for Fox to connect their lips. He missed just slightly, due to his blindness, and Yatsu grabbed his face to redirect Fox just a bit. With their lips completely connected, Fox leaned closer and wrapped his free arm around Yatsu's neck.

There was a beat of silence.

"WHAT?!" several voices cried as the two made out.

"Since when have those two been together?" Yang cried.

"Uh, they've been together for _months_ , Yang," Coco called.

"They started dating a little bit into the first semester," Velvet replied.

Another beat of silence.

"WHAT?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone like the shock in this chapter?! I've been sitting on this pair since... wow, since part 1. I've known they'd get together since then, but the longer it went on the more of a surprise I wanted it to be!


	90. Turning Points

Sun wagged his tail back and forth slowly, thinking long and hard about his next move. This was a difficult situation for him.

Sun had known he wanted to marry Ilia and Pyrrha pretty much since the moment they had started dating, but that had been too early.

But now it _wasn't_.

However, Sun had a new issue to deal with. He was the only male in this relationship, so it would make the most sense for him to propose, right? Not that Ilia and Pyrrha, or women in general, couldn't propose, Sun was a known fighter for female empowerment, considering he was such a lesbro... but the fact still remained, did they expect the only male in the relationship to propose? Sun didn't know! He _wanted_ to propose, and he was sure they wouldn't be upset about him proposing instead of them because of his gender, but... well, that brought up the **other** worry he had.

Ilia and Pyrrha had been dating each other far longer than he'd been dating them, and they **said** they were all equal in this relationship, however... he still sometimes got nervous about this sort of thing. Would he be _allowed_ to propose, as he was the newest addition to the relationship, or would he trying to propose scare them off?! He was so in love with them that it hurt, but he didn't want to force them into an uncomfortable position! Sun let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Yang," he whined over his scroll.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Hey! Don't be sharp with me! I saved _so_ many romantic things for you, so just shut up and help me."

Yang hesitated, her voice becoming more concerned.

"What's wrong?"

"I wanna get married!" Sun whined, flopping down onto his bed.

"Uh, I'm afraid that I'm both not into you **and** married already so-"

"Not to you, idiot!" Sun snapped. "I wanna marry Ilia and Pyrrha, but I don't know what to do! Am I being too dramatic?! Should I wait?! I know we have the rest of our lives to be together but... dust, Yang! I love them so much, but... how do I propose?! They've been together for so much longer than I've been with them, and what if... what if me asking them makes them feel pressured?!"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Yang called over the phone. "Calm down. As someone who is in a **very** happy poly relationship, I know that they love you just as much as they love each other. You shouldn't be so worried about that kind of thing, because it'll only drive you apart."

"I know, but... Yang, I'm **scared**! I bought engagement rings for them both _five months ago_! Five months! But then I realized it was too early, and I returned them. And then I regretted it, so I went to repurchase them! And then I realized that Pyrrha and Ilia might find the rings, so I returned them again! And then today, twenty minutes ago, I went back and bought both of them again!"

"Sun, first of all, you're insane. Second of all, calm down, because I'm sure they'd say yes. Just ask."

"Are you serious?! I can't just **ask**! I love them, Yang, and I can't drive them away just because I..."

"Because you what?" Yang prompted.

"Because I... because whenever I look at them, the only thing I want is to drop down on one knee and tell them how much I love them, to say that I want to spend the rest of my life with them and that they're the only ones for me. I want to say that, even though we're so young, I can, and have several times, already plan out our entire lives together. To say that I have names picked out for our children, that I can't wait to see the faces of our children so that I can see not just myself but the women I love in their little baby faces. But if I say that, then I'm going to sound like a creep that's way too obsessed with this relationship. But I'm so in love with them that it **burns** , Yang! I want to spend every minute of every day of the rest of my life with them, even when the going gets rough. That I'm ready to go through the ups and the downs with them. I'm ready for us to finally tie our lives together irreversibly. No, I'm not just ready, I can barely hold myself back from ordering wedding items every day. And-"

Sun hesitated, eyes darting up as he heard a squeak.

"And I'll call you back, Yang."

The blond let out a cry of protest, but Sun had already closed his scroll, letting it fall onto the bed as he sat up.

-

Coco held Velvet in her arms, the faunus breathing gently in her slumber. The two had just gotten back from their week long honeymoon, having just spent their first night back at Beacon in their room with Yatsu and Fox.

Velvet was fast asleep, but Coco herself hadn't been able to sleep well the entire night. Thoughts had been running around her head incessantly all night since they'd arrived at Beacon and seen the room they shared with their teammates.

It also didn't help that Velvet was a big cuddler and made it hard for Coco to flop around in bed, considering Velvet all but demanded to be pressed up against Coco all night.

Coco ran a hand through Velvet's hair idly, stroking her ear some as well and causing the faunus to make a sound of contentment, pulling closer to the team leader.

Coco had been horrified when Yang had implied that Velvet wanted to move their relationship forward, and the idea that she would have dozens of little baby faunus because of her being a rabbit faunus. Did that mean that Velvet wanted to move into a house with her too?

Coco could understand why she'd want to. Sharing a room with Yatsu and Fox was nice, but now that Coco and Velvet were married...

Maybe that was a good idea.

There was a mumble, and Coco glanced down at Velvet, who rolled over in her arms, pressing her front against Coco's own. Her head was set on the team leader's chest, and when she spoke Coco struggled not to laugh at the position.

"What's got you all upset?" she mumbled.

"Upset?" Coco whispered. "Nothing."

"You're a bad liar," Velvet whispered, her arms reaching out to wrap around her wife's waist so that she could pull herself closer. "Why are you keeping me up?"

"I'm keeping you awake? I'm sorry, I'll be still."

"You not being able to sleep is making me stay awake so I can take care of you," Velvet muttered, but her eyes were closed and she was clearly on the verge of slumber. "What is it?"

Coco considered.

"Do you, like, um... want..."

"Just spit it out," Velvet breathed.

"Do you want a baby?"

"What?!" Velvet hissed, eyes shooting open as she stiffened a bit in Coco's arms.

"I mean, well... Yang got in my head, and... I was wondering if you were really wanting a kid because we're married now and..."

"Coco, I'm not in a hurry to get a kid. Go to sleep," Velvet replied, rolling her eyes before she pulled closer, setting her head back down on Coco's chest and snuggling closer.

She was asleep in moments.

Coco let out a sigh of relief and let her eyes flutter shut, taking a deep breath before she pulled Velvet closer.

-

Sun looked up and saw that there were two girls that were staring at him from the doorway, eyes wide with shock.

"Heeeeeeey," he said slowly, trying to give them both a grin. How long have you two been-"

"Long enough," Ilia replied, her scales a dark shade of red as she looked at him.

Pyrrha nodded, but her eyes were wide with disbelief.

"Well... that makes this, uh... very awkward."

Sun laughed quietly and rubbed the back of his neck with his tail.

"Listen, I'm really sorry if this makes it all awkward and we can all just forget-"

Pyrrha held up her hand to quiet him, grabbing Ilia's hand in her own before she stepped forward. Ilia scrambled after her, still blushing deeply.

"Sun, we love you very much-"

"But you're not ready for this sort of commitment, I totally understand, I wasn't trying to make you feel pressured, and I really didn't mean for you to hear that, but I guess I should have been somewhere else if I didn't want you to-"

"Sun," Pyrrha said, finally pulling her hand from Ilia's own. It made Sun feel a bit better. The two holding hands meant they were on one side against him, but each individually... "I love you. And I love you too, Ilia. I hate to say it, but when I was younger, I didn't expect to fall for someone like either of you, but I've never been happier than I am with you. And, if Ilia's okay with it, then... then I'd love to marry you. Both of you."

Ilia was now an even deeper shade of red, her scales not showing any remnant of her usual skin tone. Both of her partners had their eyes locked on her, and it made her feel even more awkward.

"I, uh, well...," Pyrrha and Sun shared a fond look at their shy girlfriend. They both leaned forward to grab one of her hands. "I'd love to marry you both."

Sun beamed and let out a cheer.

"Oh my dust! I can't believe we're getting married! It's actually happening! We're getting **married**! I'm engaged! And to you two!" he cheered.

"Babe, I think you're forgetting something," Pyrrha said with a small smile.

Sun stopped, eyes wide as his tail stopped wagging suddenly.

"I... what?" he asked, sounding horrified.

"The rings, Sun. The rings."

"Oh! Right!" Sun cheered, suddenly back in his excited haze, fumbling into his pocket to pull out the two ring boxes, opening them both at once and holding them open for his two new wives-to-be.

-

Coco should be asleep. She really should. There was nothing for her to be worried about. Velvet didn't want to have a kid anytime soon, she wasn't baby hungry, she didn't need them to move into a house together soon, she was perfectly happy with their relationship like it was. That was great! Exactly what Coco wanted too!

Coco let her eyes fall shut and she pulled Velvet closer. Sleep should claim her...

It didn't.

Coco considered for a long moment before her eyes shot open and she pulled backward slightly.

"Oh no," she muttered quietly. "Oh dust. Oh please no."

Coco felt her heart sink as it began to race.

There was a reason she wasn't happy like she should have been at the news.

Velvet shifted a bit in her arms gently. Coco barely noticed, as she realized what she wanted. She wanted to have a life with Velvet. She didn't just want the legal marriage, but the whole thing that went it. She wanted what team RWBY had. She wanted the house, the children on the way, the two of them starting the next chapter of their lives together...

Velvet rolled over again in Coco's arms.

"Dust, Coco, what's wrong now?" she asked gently, reaching one hand up to put it on Coco's face. She stroked Coco gently with her thumb, letting out a quiet yawn.

Coco watched her ears curl up against the base of her skull before stretching dramatically. Coco found that it was adorable.

"So... you don't want a kid?" Coco asked.

"I mean, maybe one day. But I told you, you don't have to worry about me being baby crazy."

"That's... that's great," Coco said slowly.

"Just tell me what it is," Velvet said lovingly, but there was a hint of irritation lapsing into her voice.

"You're not baby crazy..."

"That's what I said," Velvet said with a small, fond smile on her tired face.

"But, uh," Coco let out a quiet, awkward laugh as she pulled closer, "I might be."

A beat of silence.

"Might be what?"

"Baby crazy."

"You're **what**?!" Velvet cried, suddenly wide awake as she shot up to a sitting position, staring down at her wife with wide eyes.

It was time of day where it shifted between late to early, between five and six in the morning, which meant that her screaming caused their other teammates to shoot awake.

-

Nora burst into the room.

"ARE YOU THREE ENGAGED?!" she shouted.

"How did you know that?!" Sun cried. He was laying on the bed, both Ilia and Pyrrha both sprawled out beside him. He was in a state of loopy excitement, the trio having been in a state of lovey haze since the proposal.

"I COULD SENSE IT!"

-

Velvet gaped down at her wife, reaching one hand up to wipe at her eyes, removing the sleep from them.

"Let me get this straight," Velvet said, wanting to make sure that she hadn't missed anything, considering she'd been half asleep for their conversations. "You woke me up in the middle of the night because you were scared that I wanted to have a child too early in our marriage," Fox and Yatsu were silently watching the married couple as Velvet spoke, their eyes wide, "and then you wake me up **again** an hour later, may I reiterate _in the middle of the night_ , to say that you're **baby crazy**?! What does that mean?!"

Coco cringed, giving Velvet the best smile she could muster up.

"That... I think I want a baby."

Velvet stared at her, eyes still wide.

"You _think_ you want a baby? Well, two hours ago you _thought_ you wanted to make sure that I didn't want want."

Velvet moved closer to Coco, who was laying stiffly, not sure what to do as her wife moved to put her head on her shoulder. Coco was acting like a sane person did when a cat laid on them, scared to move in case she got scratched for doing something wrong.

"Well, wake me up when you're **sure** of what you want," Velvet muttered, moving closer and taking deep breaths. She was asleep again in minutes, leaving Coco, once again, to lay there, deep in thought and unable to fall into the land of slumber as well.

-

An hour passed before Coco shook Velvet.

"I want a baby."

Velvet let out a long sigh, pulling ever closer.

"Let me think about it."

"But I made a decision!" Coco all but whined.

"I still need to make mine," Velvet replied.

Coco groaned as Velvet fell asleep again. She went from trying to figure out how to **stop** Velvet from being baby crazy to desperately trying to convince her wife to let them have a baby.

 _Dust, how did it get here?_ Coco thought. But the answer was easy. She fell in love.


	91. Three Taps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter requested by TheLonelyDraconequus as a one shot, but it worked with the story line of this, so I added it! Hope you enjoyed!!!

Neo was mute, couldn't speak, couldn't make a sound, couldn't talk. All of this was quite obvious, all things considered, but she felt the need to reiterate it, considering she literally couldn't say it out loud. But none of these things got in her way with showing her affection for her wife, Ciel.

Neo wasn't one to brag-wait, that was a lie. She was **definitely** a bragger. She loved to brag. And if there was one thing that she absolutely **loved** to brag about, it was Ciel. As in her wife. Ciel Soleil, the greatest woman to ever set foot on remnant.

To most people, Ciel seemed rather... boring. But Neo saw underneath. Ciel was the smartest woman she'd ever met, even more so than Penny! Because Neo was a supportive wife and of course her wife was smarter than a robot... even if that robot could recite every known digit of pi and speak any language... Ciel was still smarter. And Ciel could be **fun** too! Especially when she had someone like Neo to drag her out of her comfort zone.

But the important part wasn't Neo listing out why Ciel was the best (because she had a long list and now was not the time). The important part is that Neo had to show her love for her wife without being able to say a word. She had to find creative ways to showcase it!

The simplest way that she did it was by a simple three taps. _I love you_. One for each word.

-

Neo was lying in bed, Ciel in her arms as the two drifted closer and closer to sleep. She tapped her wife on the wrist three times.

"I love you too," she mumbled in her tired haze, leaning closer with a small smile.

Neo watched her wife drifting to sleep with a fond expression. She always made sure to fall asleep after Ciel, even on nights were her wife had trouble sleeping, so that she could see how she looked asleep.

The tension left Ciel's shoulders, her face becoming calm and content in a way that it hardly ever was when she was awake. Ciel always curled up in a ball when she was asleep. She always looked so small and vulnerable when she was sleeping, and Neo loved to be the only person that got to see her wife like that. She liked to run her hand through her hair while she slumbered, wrapping her arms around the other woman and holding her as close as she could.

But her favorite part of watching her wife fall asleep was that Neo always saw that little smile on her face that grew when she tapped her three times on the arm.

-

Ciel was a very stressed person, both because of her personality (very much type A, perhaps over aggressively so) and because of their stress-filled lives.

Neo was a much more laid back person, loving to go through life in a go with the flow sort of way. This meant that she didn't get stressed nearly as easily, but also that... she sometimes (usually completely on accident) her carefree way of life made her lovely wife even more stressed.

Ciel let out a groan as she fell against the bed, rolling her shoulders painfully.

Neo slid into the bed beside her easily.

Ciel raised an eyebrow, watching her with a mixture of love and caution, as if expecting for Neo to do something that was both attractive and stupid (which, to be fair, was what happened quite often. It wasn't _Neo's_ fault that Ciel was a morosexual).

Neo sat down on the bed, her arms reaching out to wrap around Ciel's waist, pulling her wife into her lap.

Ciel squirmed, her shoulders tightening, just as they did every time she was stressed. Neo knew that from experience. She could tell when Ciel got upset or nervous from watching her back, considering her shoulders always noticeably tightened.

Neo ran her hands up Ciel's side.

Ciel flushed as she glanced back at Neo, squirming a bit at the light touch.

"Neo? What are you up to."

Neo pulled her hands forward to sign for just a moment.

_'You know, Gorgeous, I **am** mute, which means that I can't both use my hands and speak.'_

Ciel laughed, and Neo watched her shoulders relax just slightly.

Neo brought her hands back and set them on Ciel's shoulders.

Ciel fought a smile, but Neo watched as it slowly spread across her wife's face.

"Thank you," Ciel muttered as she relaxed into Neo's arms, letting the former criminal start to rub her shoulders gently.

Neo tapped her thumb against Ciel's shoulder blade as she continued to rub at her shoulder.

"I love you too."

That night, Ciel fell asleep in Neo's arms, just like always.

Neo watched her with a fond smile as she slept, continuing to rub her shoulders until she had gotten the final rub out of her wife's shoulders.

She knew there'd be more there the next day, and the day after, and the day after.

But Neo would be there for every one of those days, and she'd rub her shoulders whenever she needed to.

Because Neo might never be able to say _I love you_ , but she'd find as many ways as possible to let Ciel know it.

-

Neo loved to leave little notes for her wife, no matter where it was.

Sometimes, she'd leave them littered around the house or at work.

Occasionally, when Ciel really needed to laugh, she would leave a sticky note on Ciel's back, meaning that her wife would have to find someone else to get it for her.

She'd never be able to say the words, but she could them a million times over.

-

Ciel didn't have the greatest sense of humor. She was strict and calm, never letting her composure fall.

But that wasn't good for a person, and Neo knew that first hand, considering her wife was prone to over extending herself and snapping. Neo had taken it upon herself to be the designated individual to make her wife laugh.

Ciel might pretend otherwise, but sometimes all she needed was a good laugh, and Neo was always _quite_ the comedian.

Ciel overworked herself, was prone to stress headaches, and never took time off. But, thankfully for her, her wife was the exact opposite, and took it upon herself to always make sure that Ciel took the down time she needed.

Ciel groaned as she leaned back in her chair, rubbing at her forehead.

_'What's wrong, Gorgeous?'_

"I've got a lot of tests to grade."

_'And it's difficult because all of the students are so stupid?'_

Ciel let out a laugh, giving Neo a playful glare. Ciel's shoulders relaxed.

_'How about you just give them all a passing grade and you and I go have some fun?'_

Ciel rolled her eyes, but there was a small smile on her face.

"That would be irresponsible."

_'Thank you, I do try.'_

Ciel laughed again quietly.

"You might be irresponsible, but I'm not."

_'Oh, but I bring out the **fun** in you, Gorgeous.'_

"I can't just stop grading them, Neo."

Neo dropped into Ciel's lap and wrapped her arms around the other girl's neck, pulling her wife down to connect their lips. As they kissed, Neo distracting her wife completely from the papers she still had to grade, Neo tapped her neck three times.

_Three taps._

_Infinite massages._

_Notes._

_Distractions._

_Laughter._

_I love you._

Neo might not be able to say the words, but she was the best at showing them.


	92. The Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turns out the shock was 3 chapters later because of a requested one shot that I added to the story. Here it is now though!

Weiss was laying on the couch irritably, waiting for Blake, who was in the other room speaking to Coco and Velvet quietly.

"Are you two sure that you want to do this?" Blake asked, holding a piece of dust in her hand, but she had a piece of cloth separating her skin from it so that she didn't touch it directly.

Coco was trying to stop herself from beaming, but it didn't work. Velvet watched her with a quiet laugh.

"Yes, we're sure," Velvet said, slipping her hand into Coco's own.

The team leader was excitedly squeezing on her wife's hand.

Velvet rolled her eyes at the other woman.

Coco had been trying to convince Velvet to let them get pregnant for a week now, and Velvet had finally given in. She hadn't been certain that they'd be good parents yet, considering they were young still, but Coco had made... points.

Maybe not good points, but persuasive ones, at least. She wanted to have a child, so Velvet decided to give it to her, because she loved her and wanted to have a family with her, even though she was still a bit nervous.

Blake could relate to Velvet in that way, having done the same with her wives, and she was sure everything would end up perfectly fine. After all, it had for her.

Coco pulled Velvet closer, grinning down at her enthusiastically.

Blake nodded and started to explain the way that the dust worked.

Meanwhile, their friends and family were waiting outside of the room, wanting to be there for moral support, but not wanting to intrude into the room to make them lose the magic of the situation.

Sun stepped toward the dust that had been left in a picnic basket on the table. Ilia didn't look up from her conversation with Nora when she grabbed him by the tail, pulling him backward.

"Don't touch those," Ilia muttered, not sure if she was talking more to her boyfriend or Nora, who had been sending the dust furtive glances.

Meanwhile, Winter walked over to the couch, nearby the table, sitting down beside her sister hesitantly.

"How are you feeling?" she asked her sister, putting a hand on her knee and patting it awkwardly.

"Like I'm going to throw up all four of these babies today."

"That sounds... rough."

Weiss sent her sister a long, solid look. Winter met it with the barest, most awkward smile she had ever seen.

Weiss was twenty-eight weeks pregnant now, making it clear that she was getting close to the birth of the quadruplets. Winter was happy for her, but also quietly horrified at the idea of pregnancy. Growing a human being in yourself was bad enough (well, not bad, but certainly scary), but having to push said human out of your body? That was just... terrifying.

Despite that, Winter was giving Weiss as much moral support as she could... which wasn't much, considering how bad Winter was with emotions, but she was trying nonetheless. She hoped that was enough.

Weiss finally let out a sigh and shifted slowly on the couch until she was leaning against her sister. Winter slowly wrapped her arm around the pregnant woman, the slightest hint of a smile on her face.

-

Velvet and Coco were quietly speaking in the corner, and Blake awkwardly stood there, trying to pretend that she wasn't hearing their fight.

It was over who was going to carry the child, and neither seemed to want to.

"You're the one that said they were baby crazy," Velvet said, crossing her arms.

"But I'm the crazy one! I'll do **something** to mess them up!" Coco cried.

"No you wouldn't," Velvet said, suddenly realizing what her wife was really worried about. "You're going to be there for their **entire** lives, and you're going to be a _great_ mother."

Coco sighed and ran a hand through her hair, jostling her hat a little bit as she did so.

"Are you sure?" Coco whispered.

Velvet nodded avidly.

Coco gave her a fond smile and pulled her in for a quick kiss.

"Alright. I can carry the baby."

"No, you don't have to, I can," Velvet replied.

"No, seriously, I want to," Coco argued.

"Dear dust," Blake muttered, leaning back against the wall.

"I can do it, Coco," Velvet said.

"No-"

"ONE OF YOU JUST CARRY THE CHILD!" Blake cried, throwing her hands up in the air. These two had been arguing for over fifteen minutes already, and Blake had thought that they had been nearing a conclusion, but now they had just **switched** the argument. How could they?! Blake had **things** to get done today! She had to take care of her **very** pregnant wives. Their babies were due in _eleven_ weeks! She should be there for them!

Coco and Velvet both jumped to look at the cat faunus, eyes wide.

"Okay fine you can do it," they both said.

Blake growled.

"VELVET, YOU'RE CARRYING THE BABY USE THE DUST!" Blake cried.

She thrust the dust into Velvet's hand before she hurried out of the room.

Blake threw open the door with extreme force, slamming it against Yang on accident.

Yang stumbled back and fell, bumping against Penny. Penny scrambled to catch her, but was pushed several feet back from the force of Yang's fall, causing her to bump against the table.

When she hit the table, the picnic basket holding the dust wobbled and fell over, clattering against the floor.

Penny's eyes widened and she hurried over.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she cried, grabbing the dust in her hands and trying to put the first piece back in the basket.

"Penny!" Winter hissed. "Don't touch those!"

Winter hurried off of the couch and grabbed her girlfriend by the hand to stop her from continuing.

"Once you touch it, it-"

Penny had turned at the exact moment Winter had stepped over to stop her, and it threw off the former heiress' movements. Instead of grabbing Penny by the hand, her palm grabbed the dust, which started to glow brilliantly. It was green and then a pale blue, then green, then blue, the colors shifting rapidly. Winter went to let go of the dust, her hand shooting back. The shifting between their Aura colors stopped a moment before she could, the dust becoming a mix of their colors. As Winter pulled her hand back, the dust went with her, Penny having dropped it. Expecting more resistance, Winter's hand overshot and hit her in the stomach, bringing the dust with it.

The dust seeped into her stomach and Winter watched with horror, trying to stop the process by clutching at her stomach.

It didn't.

Everyone in the room watched in silence as the couple sat there.

"What... what just happened?" Winter said softly, her eyes wide and wild in a way even Penny had never seen.

The door slammed open, again.

"WE'RE PREGNANT!" Coco cried in excitement, holding her newly pregnant wife in her arms, bridal carry style. Velvet was beaming in her arms, reaching up her hand to play with Coco's hair.

There was no cheering, and the couple took in the room quickly.

"Did we miss something?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprised?


	93. Fallout

Coco was still holding onto Velvet, but her eyes were wide as she looked at the other couple.

"You're... you two are pregnant too?" she asked.

Winter didn't respond, still staring at her stomach in a state of shock, her mouth open just a bit as she gaped down.

Penny was similarly shocked, her processing seeming to go slower than normal.

"Yes, they are," Weiss said, the first to find her voice.

Coco suddenly burst out laughing, shocking the faunus in her arms.

"So let me get this straight...," she took a deep breath as she continued to chuckle, "you two are lesbians, one of which is a robotic human, and, _somehow_ , you two... are having an accidental pregnancy."

After Coco finished, others started to join her in her laughter as well.

"Oh my dust!" Sun howled. His voice lowered to become more commanding. "Why did you two use protection?"

"Honestly, dust handling without gloves?! Were you two **asking** for this?!" Fox joined in, making Sun burst out laughing yet again.

The loud noises seemed to bring Penny back to reality, and her eyes widened with excitement.

"Wait... she's... Girlfriend Winter is pregnant?!" she cried.

More laughter.

Penny leapt to her feet before she reached down and grabbed Winter around the waist, picking her up and spinning her in a fast circle.

"Hey! Be careful!" Blake suddenly cried. "She's pregnant!"

Penny instantly set her wife down gently, but Winter was a moment from keeling over as she got her feet under her.

Penny grabbed her again to keep her pregnant girlfriend from falling over again.

"Girlfriend Winter, are you alright?" Penny asked quietly.

Winter finally stirred, her wide eyes turning to face Penny.

"Alright?" she whispered. "ALRIGHT?! No, I'm not alright, Penny! I'm pregnant!" she screamed, voice getting louder the longer she went.

Penny blinked owlishly at her.

"You don't want to have a child?"

"Of course not! Penny, we're not even married! We're not ready for a **baby**! Dust, Pen, you're still trying to get used to human interaction! I don't know how you'd deal with a baby! I don't know how **I** would deal with a baby!"

Penny stared at Winter, her expression unchanging.

"Then let's get married."

Winter stopped mid rant.

"What?!"

"You said that was a problem, so let's fix it, Girlfriend Winter!"

"You can't just **fix** everything, Pen!" Winter cried, throwing her hands up in her flustered rage.

Penny looked incredibly confused.

"But... why can't I? I want to fix everything that makes you unhappy, Girlfriend Winter, so why can't I? Getting married seems like the first step, followed by the rest of the problems you brought up."

"Penny, that's not... that's not what marriage is abou-"

Penny gently reached her hands out, grabbing onto both of Winter's with a softness that she hadn't been able to before they started dating. She really had learned.

"Girlfriend Winter, you've taught me a lot during our relationship. You taught me about love and relationships, about how to show someone that you care about them. But you don't have to explain what marriage is to me. I know it. Marriage is about wanting to connect your life with another person forever, because you love them and you want to be there for them, through thick and thin. When you want to fix their problems just so you can see their smile, when you care about them more than you care about yourself or anyone else, when you want to see them everyday because, even when you have a perfect memory and can recall every moment you've ever spent with them, you want to see their face everyday... when you love them with all your heart, even though you **know** you don't have one... that's when you know that you want to marry them. I want to marry you, and I know you're scared of commitment and starting a family after everything you've been through... but I want to work through those fears with you, because I love you, Girlfriend Winter. And I hope you want to be with me while I work through my own issues with human interactions. I know this isn't how most people get married, how they propose, but we're not most people. And I wouldn't want this any other way."

Penny took one step closer, looking her girlfriend in the eyes very pointedly.

"Would you?"

Winter was in a state of shock once again, her eyes wide. There was a moment of silence and Penny wondered if her girlfriend hadn't heard her or if she was still panicking about the pregnancy.

Suddenly, Winter's eyes filled with tears, and she fell into Penny's arms.

Penny held her gently, careful not to hurt her.

"Penny, that was the sweetest thing I've ever heard," she breathed, putting her head on Penny's shoulder.

Penny beamed down at her, deciding it was time for the final piece.

"Winter Schnee, will you marry me?" she asked quietly.

"Yes. Yes, I'll marry you," she breathed.

There was a loud cheer from the room as Winter leaned closer to connect their lips gently, pulling her closer.

Neo tapped Ciel three times rapidly, causing Ciel to turn and glance over her shoulder with a small smile.

"I love you too," she whispered. Neo smirked, but waved her hands to dispel the words.

_'It seems like today's a pregnancies, isn't it, Gorgeous?'_

Ciel paled and stared at her for a long moment.

"It... is, isn't it?" she asked slowly.

Neo's eyes suddenly widened. What had been meant as a joke suddenly turned serious as she leaned closer.

_'I can go steal one of those off the floor if you want.'_

"If you're going to be the mother of our child, then you have to stop with the crime for good. No stealing," Ciel said with a quiet laugh.

Neo leaned closer, setting her forehead against Ciel's as she signed.

_'I stole your heart, I think one last robbery would be acceptable, don't you?'_

"I need more than a minute to think about this, Beautiful."

_'Aw, come on! What happened to the spontaneous woman that married me on a whim?'_

"She returned to normal after a day of love stricken insanity."

_'But answer me one question, Gorgeous. Was that or was it not the best day of your life?'_

Ciel hesitated.

"Yes, obviously it was, but-"

_'But what? Come on. Will you be the crazy to my insane?'_

"That's a horrible way to ask me to have a child with you."

Neo smiled at her, and Ciel found herself cracking.

"Dear dust, I can't believe what I'm about to say, but... go steal us a baby."

_'That's all I've ever wanted to hear you say.'_

"Do it while everyone's distracted by the proposal," Ciel hissed.

Neo saluted before she dashed across the room, shifting her appearance so that she easily blended in. She knelt down by the dust and grabbed one in a handkerchief before she raced back to Ciel, reappearing with a smirk.

Neo grabbed her wife's hand and brought it forward.

"You want me to carry it?" Ciel asked, rolling her eyes at the words.

Neo gave her a look that Ciel could easily interpret.

_'You're the responsible one, Gorgeous.'_

Ciel rolled her eyes again.

"Fine."

Neo gently unwrapped the dust and grabbed it with one hand, Ciel grabbing it at the same time. It glowed brilliantly, shifting between their Aura colors for just a moment before they combined.

Neo and Ciel slowly guided it until it got to Ciel's stomach, disappearing with a little glow.

They waited a moment before Neo **beamed** , racing forward and grabbing Ciel in her arms.

"Wait!" Blake suddenly cried, her eyes wide. "Did someone else just accidentally use the dust?!"

"Accidentally?" Ciel asked, smirking at her wife, who let out a silent laugh as she leaned closer. "No, definitely not, only idiots could possibly do that," Winter let out a growl as she leaned against her soon-to-be wife. "We used it on **purpose**."

"Did... did you just steal yourself a baby?" Sun asked.

"Yes, we did," Ciel replied, giving Neo a long kiss. The former criminal pulled her closer, hands clutching her face tightly.

"Dang, now I kind of feel left out. Should we get pregnant?" Nora asked.

"Absolutely not," Ren said immediately while Jaune's eyes widened in disbelief and horror.

Ciel and Neo finally pulled apart, giving each other a small smile.

Winter and Penny were still smiling at one another lovingly, and the robotic girl suddenly jumped, eyes wide.

"Rings! We need rings!" she cried with an excited air to her words.

She started to dash off, but Winter grabbed her hand.

"Not right now, Pen, we can wait a few minutes."

"How did us getting pregnant not become the most exciting thing today?" Coco asked with a small pout on her face. Velvet let out a quiet laugh, leaning closer to her wife, who was still holding her in her arms gently, as if afraid that by letting her pregnant wife walk she would harm the unborn child.

"Well, I'm still excited," Velvet said gently. Coco leaned down to give her a quick kiss, smiling broadly.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't be updating tomorrow, so I'm trying to get a few chapters out today, that's why I started so early.


	94. Puppy Love

Alea let out a chuckle as she watched Ivy looking around the hallway with a slightly excited look in her eyes.

"Are you alright?" Alea asked her friend, tightening her grip around Ivy's waist comfortingly.

"Everything is so... weird! Like it's all weird..."

"This is how everyone sees it, Ives, I already told you that," Natalie said with an eye roll.

"It **is** different, isn't it?" Alea added on, her face covered with an innocent smile as she glanced around. "Like everything's kind of darker... further away."

"Yeah," Ivy breathed as she moved closer to the ATLS team leader with a small grin on her face. "Everyone is different too."

"I **know**!" Alea agreed. "They're so much more... reserved."

"Exactly! How do people live like this?"

"I don't know. I can't even tell if someone's watching me."

Rachel and Natalie **were** watching Alea, but, as she had said, she couldn't tell. She was still comparing her semblance to Ivy's own, and suddenly the puppy-like team leader was more of threat than ever. At least when she was just a flirtatious know-it-all that took out almost the entirety of team ORIN (and probably could have on her own), she had just seemed like a player. Now... now she was not just that charming individual that almost everyone in school had a crush on, but she was also...

A puppy. Yes, she was, there was no other way to describe the other girl, and it was a slight shock to Natalie that she wasn't a faunus.

Alea let out a giggle as she leaned down closer to Ivy.

"Yeah, yeah, I didn't even **notice** that Rachel had a crush on you two! Lexey's the one that told me about it, and I wanted to help, you know, because you're awesome and I thought the three of you would be adorable. Then Stacey told me just to hang out with Rachel, and I had **no** idea why until Natalie started getting jealous and Terresa told me what was going on! Ugh, it was so **weird** trying to flirt!"

Ivy laughed quietly before it turned into a giggle. She leaned closer to the team leader as she listened to the story.

"You weren't very good at it."

"That's what _I_ said! Oh my dust, it's so awesome that my semblance doesn't change how you interpret me!" Alea cried in excitement.

"Did you know that there are some types of mirrors that can reflect sound? They're called-"

"Acoustic mirrors!" Alea cheered enthusiastically. "Yes! I guess that having such similar semblances **does** let us communicate better, huh?"

Alea leaned lower, almost falling over as she laughed.

Terresa held the two up with a small, fond smile on her face.

"Did you know that all languages are just human constructs and that no word has any meaning but what we give it?"

"Yes! That's what **I** always thought!" Alea said enthusiastically, that excitable grin was back on her face.

Ivy laughed again, letting her head fall on Alea's shoulder.

"How about we head back to the dorm, Ives?" Rachel asked, holding back her irritation at the team leader draping herself all over her girlfriend.

"Hey, there's no need for that!" Alea said, giving Rachel had best smile. "Why don't you four join us in our room?"

"Oh no it's alright, we'd hate to impose-"

"You wouldn't be imposing, Nat! Oh, can I call you Nat?" Alea asked. She had the most innocent expression on that not even the typically cynical Natalie could say no to her.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Great! Then you can call me Al! That's what all my friends call me!"

"You have one friend and she calls you Lea," Stacey said, rolling her eyes while crossing her arms. "Your **girlfriends** call you Al."

"Lea's a better nickname anyways," Ivy said idly. "Al sounds like a man's name."

Alea giggled, raising one arm tiredly and flexing her arm. All three of her girlfriends stared at it, whether outright like Terresa or subtly out of the corner of her eyes like Stacey.

"Ah, yes, I'm **very** manly," she said in a deeper voice before she let out a higher pitched giggle. Ivy joined in.

Rachel and Natalie glared at Alea's back.

"You're _very_ manly, Lea," Ivy replied, poking Alea's arm.

The team leader giggled again and pulled her arm back defensively.

"Vee!" she all but whined. "You know that I'm ticklish!"

Ivy gave her an idle smile, still looking directly at her.

"Why would she know that?!" Rachel hissed quietly to Natalie, the faunus crossing her arms as she watched Ivy and Alea.

"Are you two still on about this?" Oscar asked irritably.

Rachel and Natalie groaned.

"How are we supposed to get between **those** two?! They look like an old married couple!" Rachel hissed.

Alea reached down to mess with Ivy's hair playfully. Ivy hummed as she looked around.

Alea pulled to a stop and went to open the door, but she almost fell over. This prompted her to giggle drunkenly.

Terresa rolled her eyes and opened the door for her.

"Seriously, are you drunk right now?" she asked.

"No, my _Aura_ broke, Ter, you know that," Alea replied, causing Ivy to laugh again.

"You have **no** tolerance," Stacey said, rolling her eyes.

"That's because my Aura never breaks, Ter!" Alea replied.

"Yes, yes, you're amazing, we all know that," Stacey said with an eye roll.

"No, **you** three are!" Alea said, laughing again.

Ivy leaned against her again.

"You _four_ , sorry, forgot!" Alea said as she flopped onto her bed, bringing Ivy down with her.

"You have **three** girlfriends, not four, Al," Stacey said, crossing her arms as she watched Ivy curl up beside Alea, setting her head on the team leader's chest.

"Of course I know that! I have the best girlfriends in the world! **And** the best best friend. Oh, is that why they call it best friend?"

"Probably," Ivy said idly, playing with her friend's shirt collar.

"That's awesome."

"You two new to the jealousy thing?" Lexey asked, leaning back against the wall beside Natalie and Rachel, who both jumped to look over at her.

"Jealous?" Natalie scoffed. "We're not jealous."

"You have the jealous look, and you're glaring at my girlfriend. You're jealous. I get it," Lexey said. Alea buried her face in Ivy's hair as light came into the room, blinding her. "Trust me, I really do."

"How do you put up with the constant flirting?" Rachel asked finally, letting go of all pretenses.

"By knowing that she isn't? Alea might not look it, but she's the most loyal person I've ever met... there was this one time when-"

_/_

_Alea grinned at her friend Jason as he looked her up and down, a small smirk on his face._

_"Hey, Jason! How are you?" Alea asked, leaning against the wall with a grin._

_"Oh, not much."_

_He leaned against the wall and put his hand next to where her head was. He came dangerously close, causing all of team ATLS to stare at him, each with murderous intent, except Alea. Alea just gave him a wide smile as she watched him lean closer and closer._

_"So, when are we going to do this?"_

_"Go to class?" Alea asked innocently, blinking at him._

_He laughed._

_"Oh, Al, you're so funny. You know what I'm talking about."_

_"I do?" Alea asked, confused. To the rest of the world, she had on a seductive smirk as leaned a bit closer. "What is it?" she breathed smoothly._

_Jason finally leaned closer, his lips coming within a hair of Alea's own._

_Alea's eyes widened in shock before she brought her knee up, slamming it between his legs. While he groaned, Alea swung her fist forward to hit him in the chest. As he doubled over, Alea finally used her other hand to grab his head, bringing her knee up once again to slam against his face._

_His Aura broke at the last hit, and Alea shoved the boy backward to hit the ground._

_"What the dust, man?!" Alea cried in shock. "Did you just try to kiss me?!"_

_"Yeah," he moaned, "you've been flirting with me for months, Alea! I finally got sick of it!"_

_Alea kicked him in the gut._

_Stacey, Terresa, and Lexey all watched lovingly as Alea ran over to them with wide eyes._

_"He was flirting with me?!" Alea hissed. "Wow, did not see that coming..."_

_/_

"What I'm trying to say is that I know she'd never cheat on us."

"Then why is she all over Ivy?!" Natalie hissed.

"Because Alea has a lot of trouble making friends that don't want to make out with her or think that she's trying to steal their girlfriend or boyfriend. Or that she sleeps around. The point is, Alea can't make friends easily, and now that she has Ivy, I'm not going to ruin this for her, because she's really happy with her friendship with Ivy. Dust, I mean, look at those two!" Lexey gestured at the pair.

Alea had drifted asleep, and she was making gentle, adorable snores. She was curled completely around Ivy, one leg thrown around her friend's waist while both her arms were wrapped around Ivy. Alea also had her head resting on top of Ivy's own, holding Ivy like she was a giant stuffed animal and Alea was a five-year-old. Ivy was drifting asleep as well, her head resting on Alea's chest and her legs curled up so that she was in a little ball in her friend's arms.

"Okay... they are, admittedly, the most adorable two people that have ever existed, but...," Rachel sighed, pouting.

"But?" Lexey prompted.

"I don't like it!" Rachel finally hissed.

"I don't know, Rach, they really do look cute...," Natalie said.

Ivy squirmed a bit, looking as if she was about to pull away from the other girl, but she, instead, pulled herself closer and buried her head in some of the hair that was dangling on Alea's shoulder.

The team leader pulled her closer as she slept, a smile on her face even as she slumbered.

"Okay, that is... stop making me look at them, I can't be mad when I do that!" Rachel hissed. She started to turn, but Natalie grabbed her girlfriend's head in her hand, turning her to face Ivy. "Dear dust they look like two little puppies in a cuddle pile."

"Do you want to get in the way of that just because you're jealous?" Natalie asked.

"No, no I don't," she muttered. "Ivy has trouble with friends too..."

"And you know she'd never cheat on us," Natalie offered, giving Rachel a small smile.

"Of course she wouldn't..."

"Then let's let sleeping dogs lie and wait until they wake up."

"Fine!" Rachel cried.

Alea snored gently and let out a content sound as she pulled Ivy closer.

Who could get in between those two?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND that officially makes 500k words! Half a MILLION! We did it, guys!


	95. Tests

"This seems like a much more... personal matter," Winter said, trying to sound professional even as she blushed slightly.

 _'Aw, come on, Snowflake! We're all in this together, and our children will probably be born within a week of each other. Oh my dust everyone will be **broke** after the birthday week...,' _Neo was grinning anyways, and she glanced at Ciel excitedly.

Ciel rolled her eyes.

"She does have a point, however. We should all be here to support one another."

"Even when we're doing pregnancy tests?" Winter asked sufferingly.

"Especially then!" Coco said, giving Neo a high five.

Winter's leg was bouncing up and down, and Penny put her hand on top of it, sitting down beside her.

"What are you hoping for, Girlfriend Winter."

"It's Fiancée Winter now," she corrected almost offhandedly. "And... and what do you mean?"

"With the test. What do you want the result to be, Fiancée Winter?"

Winter hesitated, looking Penny in the eyes for a long moment, finding comfort in the familiar green of them, the orbs seeming to glow emerald.

"Well, a few ago, I would have said that I wanted it to be negative, but now... now that we're here and you're so excited and we're getting married... I am too. I want it to be positive."

Penny **beamed** at her excitedly.

"That's great, Fiancée Winter!" she cried.

Winter leaned against her side, and Ciel cleared her throat.

"Oh! Right! Go take your pregnancy test, Fiancée Winter!" Penny cried enthusiastically, setting Winter on her feet, surprising the Schnee.

Penny cheered happily as Winter walked into one of the bathrooms, still clapping.

"You know, Pen, typically people don't cheer for other people when they're taking pregnancy tests," Coco said.

"They don't? Why not?" Penny asked.

 _'Because typical people are lame. Cheer twice as loud for me, Pen!'_ Neo signed, smirking.

Coco burst out laughing, but the sound was drowned out by Penny's insanely loud cheers.

 _Is... is Penny cheering?_ Winter thought to herself, frowning. _That's so stupid._ A smile grew across her face despite herself. _And so, so sweet..._

A few minutes passed, Penny not stopping her cheering for a moment of it. That was one of the best parts about not having lungs. She didn't have to stop to take a breath. Neo and Coco didn't stop laughing the entire time, but all three instantly fell silent as the first door opened.

Coco dashed forward to her wife, grabbing Velvet in her arms.

"Are we...," she trailed off, reaching one hand up to wipe at Velvet's eyes to dry them of tears.

"We are," Velvet replied, holding up the pregnancy test, which had a positive result on it.

Coco **beamed** and grabbed her wife in a tight hug. She let out a disbelieving laugh.

"We're having a baby!" she cheered.

The second door opened, and Neo seemed to materialize beside it.

Ciel grabbed her wife's hands in her own, making Neo stiffen. She had so many questions, so many things she wanted to say, but with Ciel holding her hands...

Neo squeezed her hands three times on repeat, making Ciel grin at her.

"We're pregnant," Ciel breathed.

Neo instantly wrenched her hands out of Ciel's, surprising her wife, before she set both of them on Ciel's stomach. She tapped it three times with both hands.

Ciel had been on the verge of tears, but the final action from her wife was what broke her down, and she started to quietly cry.

The final door opened and Penny shot forward through the use of rockets, stopping less than an inch of Winter. Winter almost walked into her, but stopped immediately when she saw the streaks of green. She was more than used to Penny dashing around unexpectedly, and knew to stop as soon as she saw hints of it.

Winter held up the test wordlessly, and Penny stared at it blankly.

"Fiancée Winter, I'm sorry to say, but-"

"It's a positive."

Penny **beamed** and wrapped her arms around the other woman, lifting her into the air and avoiding touching her stomach too harshly.

"We're having a baby!"

"Or _babies_ considering the track record of the dust," Winter muttered.

"Even **better**!" Penny cried, pulling her soon-to-be wife closer into her arms.

"I love you," Winter breathed.

"I love you too."

"Stop being gross, you two," Coco called.

"Your tongue was down Velvet's throat a minute ago, calm down," Winter replied instantly.

Neo would have probably added something to the exchange, but she currently had Ciel pushed up against the wall, reaching one hand up to run through her hair while the other continued to gently tap on her stomach three times on repeat.

"Wait did you call **us** gross when those two are-"

"I'm too scared of Neo to ever say anything about her relationship with Ciel," Coco interrupted immediately.

"That's smart," Velvet added lovingly, reaching up so that she could grab the sunglasses off of Coco's face. She held them loosely in her hand so that she could look into Coco's beautiful eyes.

The air was filled with palpable excitement from the three couples, all from three little pregnancy tests.

But there was nothing little about the changes the tests brought.


	96. Sisters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're getting there!

Alea awoke and started to stretch, but arms grabbed her tightly, legs wrapping closer around her. Alea instantly held still, her eyes fluttering open as she looked down to find that Ivy was still laying in her grasp.

Alea tilted her head, finding that the world around her in less crisp vision than usually, the people around her impossible to sense. Her Aura was still broken, but she was feeling way better than before. She caught Natalie's gaze and beamed at her, waving just slightly. Natalie let out a huff, rolling her eyes, and waved back at her.

Alea slowly pulled Ivy closer to her, the member of team ORIN letting out a content sound, and Alea pushed herself into a sitting position. She let herself lean against the back of the bed, Ivy still sleeping on top of her.

Her actions caused the other students in the room to hurry over to their sides.

"Hey, Hon, are you feeling better?" Terresa whispered, careful not to wake Ivy up.

"Yeah," Alea breathed, absentmindedly running her hand down Ivy's back.

Natalie and Rachel looked away, and Alea tilted her head to the side, frowning.

"What's wrong with those two?" she tried to whisper to Stacey, but her voice carried, especially to Natalie's sensitive faunus ears.

"They think you're flirting with their girlfriend," Stacey said instantly, crossing her arms as she leaned against Terresa.

"Still?!" Alea hissed. Ivy squirmed a bit in her arms, and Alea lowered her voice, running her hand through the woman's hair. "But my Aura broke! And my semblance isn't working!"

"To be fair, she **is** asleep in your lap right now, babe," Terresa said, rolling her eyes.

Alea hesitated before her attention turned to Natalie and Rachel.

"I'm not trying to flirt with your girlfriend. It's just... it's really nice to have a friend again. I mean, I had my teammates, and then we started dating," all three of her girlfriends snapped their gazes to her, "which was great! But... there's just something about friendship that's... different. I missed having a friend, and then I found Ivy, and she just... she understands me in a way that nobody does. I'm not interested in her... _romantically_ , she's just... she's special to me in a **different** way. Just because we're close, that doesn't mean that we're interested in each other in that way. She's... she's like a sister to me. Our lives have been parallels of each other since we were born. Both of us have been misunderstood because of our passive semblances, and we have trouble communicating with other people. But she's the only person that is never affected by my semblance. But... if our closeness makes you uncomfortable, then I can... I can back off."

Natalie and Rachel both sighed.

"No, I'm sorry, it's just... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gotten so jealous," Rachel said.

"I'm sorry too," Natalie added. "I knew that there was nothing going on, but... she's never been close with people outside of our team, and... I was worried because you seemed to understand her language better than even us..."

Alea laughed quietly.

"That's because her semblance is so similar to mine! You shouldn't be jealous that I can understand her, but I get why you would be."

"You shouldn't get upset," Ivy said.

Alea jumped and let out a shocked sound, gripping Ivy tighter in her shock.

"I'm not interested in her like that. That's gross," Ivy continued.

"Rude," Alea muttered.

Ivy moved a bit and leaned her head back.

"What you said was very nice. I think you're a great sister."

Alea beamed down at her, seeming to light up the room with her excitement.

"See?! I told you!" Alea cried.

"Nat, Rach, I'd appreciate it if you stopped telling Alea that she's flirting with me, because she couldn't even if she wanted to."

"That's true!" Alea said, pointing at Ivy, who had yet to move out of her lap and clearly had no intent to.

"Fine," Natalie and Rachel said together, but they were both grinning.

"Wait, if I'm the sister now, do I get to give the sister talk that Mrs. Belladonna-Schnee is always talking about?" Alea asked, beaming.

Ivy laughed quietly.

"If you want to. I guess I'll have to do the same. You want to go first?" she replied.

Alea laughed, shaking her head.

"Oh, not right now," her expression suddenly turned dark, and she looked like her semblance had been flared despite her Aura still being broken. "I'm going to wait until I'm ready for another fight, because I might have a few Auras to break."

Natalie and Rachel both forced themselves to laugh, but when Alea's eyes narrowed, they both paled.

-

Winter groaned and sat down beside her sister.

"What's wrong with you?" Weiss asked, frowning.

"My stomach," Winter said, throwing her head back against the back of the couch.

It had been three weeks since the dust incident, two weeks since the pregnancy test, and Weiss was now thirty-one weeks pregnant. She was due in seven.

"Don't tell me you're already having morning sickness," Weiss said, glancing at her sister with a small sigh.

"I am."

Penny was trying to be nice about it, but she didn't exactly understand... morning sickness. Penny had never **once** been nauseous and she hadn't thrown up either. She wasn't exactly _human_ , which made her a lot more confused about pregnancy symptoms. But she **really** was trying to help.

"I understand how you feel," Weiss said kindly, giving her sister a small smile. "I've had a **lot** of morning sickness."

"You have?" Winter asked, glancing her way as she set her hand on her stomach just slightly.

"Definitely."

"Does it get better?"

"The morning sickness? No. But you get used to it. Just wait for the mood swings."

Winter groaned and Weiss reached over to pat her on the knee awkwardly.

"Sorry. It's worth it though."

Winter watched Penny as she excitedly talked to Blake, asking countless questions about babies and how to take care of them.

"I know."

-

Ruby was crying.

Yang tried to sneak out of the room and find Blake, but the cat faunus was busy talking to Penny about children, and Blake was having a great time. She was speaking animatedly, and she had even drawn Sun into the conversation. The monkey faunus now seemed **very** intent on children and talking about them. Pyrrha and Ilia watched their husband-to-be with wide eyes.

That meant...

Yang took a deep breath and turned to face her sister, forcing a smile.

"Hey, Rubes, what's wrong?" she asked gently, sliding down to sit next to her **very** pregnant sister.

"They...," she sniffled, "they just love each other so much!"

Ruby fell over and buried her face in Yang's shoulder, holding the blond tightly.

Yang awkwardly patted her on the back, pulling her closer.

"There there," she whispered. "Who's so in love, Rubes?"

"Them!" she gestured vaguely at the room.

"Who?"

" **Everyone**!"

Yang looked around the room and saw that all of their friends were standing around talking, having gotten together like they did almost daily.

"They're all so sweet and happy and I'm so happy for them!" Ruby cried.

"That's... that's a good thing, though," Yang said slowly, frowning in confusion.

Ruby sobbed in her arms.

"And they're all going to be there for our _children_ , Yang! We're having _kids_!"

"Yes... it's going to be amazing," Yang said awkwardly.

Despite how nervous she sounded with the words, considering she was scared that she might make her sister feel **worse** , she found herself almost tearing up at the words. Ruby was right. These were the people that were going to be around them and their children for the rest of their lives. And Yang couldn't be happier (even if Nora may or may not have just accidentally started a fire in the kitchen, causing Blake to burst in with a fire extinguisher that she had had at her side all afternoon, knowing that **someone** would make her have to use it).


	97. Two for One (1/2)

Sun reached out to grab Ilia and Pyrrha's hands, each in one of his own.

"Ready?!"

"For... what?" Ilia asked as they hesitated.

"To get married!" Sun cried, his tail wagging back and forth enthusiastically.

"What?!" both Pyrrha and Ilia cried as one.

"We're getting married today!" Sun cried excitedly, as if that was something that would be sprung on the pair randomly.

"We **are**?!" Ilia shrieked, stumbling back and almost falling. The only reason she didn't was because Pyrrha instinctively wrapped her arm around the chameleon faunus' waist to stabilize her.

"Yeah! Yang set it all up for me!" Sun cried enthusiastically. "I mean, I structured everything, wrote down exactly what she needed to buy, and said exactly when to do it, but she did it all! This is going to be the **best** wedding **ever**!"

He tugged the two women out of the room.

"Wait, we're going **now**?!" Ilia screamed, digging her heels into the ground in an attempt to stop the three of them from racing out of the room. "I... what?! I'm not ready!"

Sun immediately stopped as he heard Ilia's panicked breathing, her heart racing. She wrenched her hand out of his own and scrambled backward, her scales already turning instinctively to match the color of the area around them. Sun and Pyrrha exchanged a look. When Ilia started to blend in without attempting to, it meant that she was **terrified** of the situation she was in. That meant that the two of them had to act fast to calm her down before she spiraled too far and couldn't be talked down. It was a small window before the two of them lost the chameleon faunus to her breakdown. A **very** small window.

"I... I wasn't ready for our wedding today! I...," Ilia took a deep breath and took several steps back, her back hitting the hall. She started to sink down to a sitting position, but Sun leapt forward, grabbing her around the waist with his tail. He yanked her back to her feet and pulled her closer.

Pyrrha grabbed the chameleon faunus in both arms, pulling her in for a hug. Pyrrha was better at those, but Sun joined in anyways, wrapping his arms around the pair of them excitedly.

"Hey, hey, we don't have to if you don't want to," Sun said quietly, but he cast Pyrrha a small, sad look.

Ilia took a deep breath, burying her face in the hug.

"N-no, it's just... I thought..."

"Sun, you know better than to spring things on her," Pyrrha hissed.

"I know, Pyr, but I thought it would be fun and romantic-"

"It is!" Ilia stumbled to respond, but she was still clutching Pyrrha like she was a landline. Her head leaned over to rest on Sun's chest. "It's just... I... was taken by surprise is all, and... I don't know, kind of freaked out."

"Kind of?" Sun asked quietly.

Pyrrha smacked him in the arm while Ilia laughed quietly, if a bit weakly.

"It's cool. I'm ready, let's go."

Sun beamed at his fellow faunus' words, reaching down to grab her hand again before racing out of the room.

"Are you sure?" Pyrrha asked.

Ilia was tugged forward by Sun's hand, and she reached out to grab Pyrrha's own hand.

Sun dragged both of them outside to find that Neo had already landed the airship in the lawn in front of the school.

"I'm sure," Ilia said, a small smile on her face.

_/_

_Ilia stumbled back, instinctively changing colors to match the room around her so that she wasn't seen by the people around her._

_Sun and Pyrrha were talking about something, but Ilia couldn't hear them._

_Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she could hear it in her ears, couldn't hear anything **but** that._

_They wanted to get married... today? Why today? That made no sense! Why today?! She wasn't ready! She still had to..._

_Still had to what?_

_She had her suit for the wedding, yes she was wearing a suit just like she had to team RWBY's wedding, and she knew very well that Sun had already gotten everything ready for them. Had gotten Yang to after he had prepared everything, that is._

_So why was she worried?_

_Pyrrha and Sun were talking still. She didn't care. They were heading toward her, as if wanting to get closer and calm her down._

_"I... I wasn't ready for our wedding today! I...,"  
_

_She took several steps backward until her back hit the wall. She started to sink toward the ground, but a tail wrapped around her waist._

_She hesitated before she let herself be tugged toward Sun._

_She heard them talk, but she didn't notice. The world around her seemed so far away, and she could barely feel the arms that were wrapping around her._

_She wasn't ready for this because..._

_Because?_

_As they talked above her head, literally, as always, she searched for the reason._

_Was it because she was scared for the commitment? No, that didn't make sense, considering she was in love with them and ready to do this. She wouldn't have accepted the proposal if she wasn't ready in the moment it was asked._

_Ilia wanted to marry them._

_She was panicking because... because it was a surprise? No, she had known this was what would happen, considering she was in love with Sun and understood that he would do it as a surprise._

_So she was panicking because..._

_Because of the reason she always panicked in this sort of situation with her partners._

_She was still, deep down, worried that she wasn't worthy of her partners, because... they were perfect. And she was just... she was just Ilia.  
_

_But... they were here. They were **here**. They were holding her while she panicked, not caring that she was reacting like a small child to the simplest surprise._

_She was having a panic attack, and the pair of them were both dropping everything in an attempt to make sure that she was safe and happy._

_"Hey, hey, we don't have to if you don't want to," Sun said comfortingly. The words broke them._

_"N-no, it's just... I thought...," Ilia trailed off. She didn't want to tell them why she freaked. They always got upset when she said things about her not wanting to be a burden or that she was worried she wasn't worthy of them._

_"Sun, you know better than to spring things on her," Pyrrha hissed._

_"I know, Pyr, but I thought it would be fun and romantic-"_

_"It is!" Ilia stumbled to respond, scrambling for a way to convince them that she hadn't panicked about not being good enough for them. She decided to settle on it being a surprise. "It's just... I... was taken by surprise is all, and... I don't know, kind of freaked out."_

_She pulled closer to her partners, laying her head on Sun's chest while she enjoyed their presence._

_She took a deep breath, and she felt the fear and frustration seep out of her._

_It was replaced by a sense of peace and even excitement._

_She was ready. She was **more** than ready to get married._

_/_

Sun grinned as he burst into the airship, dragging both of his soon-to-be wives on behind him with a wide grin.

Ilia had expected for there to be a loud cheer from their friends, but none of them were on the airship except for Neo and Ciel (who was sitting in her wife's lap, as always).

"Where is everyone?" Pyrrha asked, glancing around.

"Setting up the wedding," Ciel called from the front.

Sun pulled his scroll out of his pocket and sent a quick message.

 **Sun:** _Is plan Frozen Metal a go?_

 **Lessis:** _You know it!_

 **Sun:** _Is everything ready?_

 **Lessis:** _Everything! The moment you get here, the only thing you'll have to worry about is getting dressed, putting on makeup, and keeping your head from getting chopped off by either Winter or one of your girls._

 **Sun:** _As best man, it's your job to keep me from getting my head cut off._

 **Lessis:** _You ask too much._

 **Sun:** _Too bad. Because it hasn't been asked, it has been demanded by the groom._

 **Lessis:** _FINE!_

Sun slipped his scroll back into his pocket with a small smile, turning to face Ilia and Pyrrha.

"What is it?" Ilia demanded, crossing her arms as she leaned backward.

Pyrrha wrapped her arms around Ilia before she crossed her arms as well in front of Ilia's chest.

Sun thought it was **adorable** , and wished her could have joined that, but knew that the crossed arms were directed at _him_.

"Hmm?" he asked, giving them a smile.

"That's your 'I have to tell you something and I know you're not going to like it' smile," Pyrrha said.

"So spill," Ilia finished for her.

"I... may or may not have invited someone to create this a double wedding."

There was a **long** beat of silence.

"You did **what**?!" Ilia shrieked.

"Ilia, baby, I love you, but you should probably calm down. How about you let me handle this one?" Pyrrha whispered, leaning down to place a kiss on top of the faunus' head.

She was obviously still nervous about Ilia's panic attack from earlier.

"Okay," Ilia replied, leaning back further in her arms.

"Alright," Pyrrha said calmingly, taking a deep breath. "Sun... YOU DID WHAT?!"

Sun just about jumped out of his seat at Pyrrha yelling at him.

That was **rare**! And... was it bad that he found it insanely hot? Probably, but he'd file that away for later.

"I... asked Penny and Winter if they wanted to have a double wedding with us. Or, well, I had Yang ask them for me. And they said yes. Or, well, Penny probably said yes while Winter said no and then Penny convinced her to because of how much she loves her."

Ilia looked up at Pyrrha, the two exchanging a long look.

"Sun, you are both the only man I would ever marry and still an example of why I don't like any other men," Ilia finally said.

Pyrrha burst out laughing before she gained a guilty expression, hiding her face behind Ilia.

"Sorry, Sun," she said while Ilia continued to laugh.

"So... are you two okay with this? Because I can-"

"It's fine," Pyrrha said. "I actually think it's kind of sweet."

"It is, but... ugh, why do you have to be sweet **today**?!" Ilia hissed.

"Because weddings are beautiful and should be special occasions," Sun said, but it sounded almost like a question.

Ilia and Pyrrha considered for a moment.

Ilia sighed and leaned forward, Pyrrha unwrapping her arms from around the faunus.

Sun's eyes widened as if in fear before Pyrrha reached forward and grabbed his wrist, tugging him forward.

He fell into her lap and she turned him (dust but her muscles were still awe inspiring and so hot) so that he was facing out.

Ilia then flopped down in his lap, crossing her arms. Pyrrha grabbed his arms and then put them in front of Ilia's chest, crossing hers over Sun's.

The monkey faunus let out a gasp of excitement, beaming at his wives-to-be.

"We knew that you wanted to join in on this," Pyrrha whispered.

"I love it!" Sun breathed, leaning closer to the two and pulling Ilia further into his grasp so that he could put his head on her shoulder, Pyrrha doing the same behind him. Sun suddenly felt tears in his eyes. "You two are the best... I can't believe we're getting married."

Ilia turned her head to look over at Sun, connecting their lips with a gentle smile.

Sun let out a breath and pulled closer to Pyrrha, enjoying the embrace.

They really were getting married! He was so excited!

_/_

_Penny leaned closer to Winter, beaming like a complete idiot. Winter found it endearing, despite the other woman making her feel **exceedingly** nervous about the whole wedding thing._

_"We're getting **married**!" Penny cheered._

_"We most certainly not," Winter replied. She was **not** ready to get married, considering she hadn't gotten everything ready, and she did **not** want a double wedding._

_Penny's eyes turned sad and almost puppy-like. Winter internally cursed._

_"I thought you wanted to get married, Fiancée Winter."_

_"You're trying to manipulate me emotionally, Penny, because you know that I want to get married, but that I don't want a double wedding. You, on the other hand, are excited to get married and enjoy double weddings."_

_Winter's tone had changed to her formal one that she used when debating or in business situations._

_Penny's eyes turned, if possible, even sadder. She looked down dejectedly._

Dear dust, _Winter thought in frustration_ , who has been teaching her body language?! She's getting **far** too good at manipulating people.

_Winter looked away, her arms crossed against her chest._

_Penny let out a dramatic sigh._

_"I... I get it. I know that you want our wedding to be perfect, and... no matter what I do, I could never make today perfect for you. Not enough for our wedding."_

_Winter hesitated, and her gaze darted to Penny. The moment her eyes landed on her, she was doomed._

_Penny was still stooped over, sighing dejectedly again._

_"Penny, you know that's not true, marrying you is more than enough for a day to be perfect. I love you and...," Winter cut off quickly as she realized that she had suddenly almost agreed to get married today.  
_

_"And?" Penny prompted for her, giving her a small, encouraging smile as she took one step forward, her body language changing completely, showing off her excitement full force._

_"I love you."_

_"You already said that. You were going to say something else. What was it?" Penny prompted._

_Winter growled angrily._

_"Fine! Stop trying to manipulate me! You already convinced me!" Winter snapped._

_Penny **beamed** , and Winter could have sworn that she saw rainbows appear around her Fiancée's head. Like she was some real-life magical princess._

_"Really?! You want to get married today?! In a double wedding?!" Penny cried._

_Winter sighed deeply._

_"Yes."_

_Penny threw her arms around Winter's neck and giggled._

_"YAY!"_

_Winter wanted to be frustrated, but she couldn't be, not when Penny was so excited._


	98. Two for One (2/2)

"I can't believe she talked you into this," Weiss muttered as she helped her sister get ready. She was helping her with her makeup and was going to get her wedding dress ready.

"I can't believe that she talked me into this," Winter replied with a small sigh, sitting primly as her sister continued to help her get ready.

Weiss chuckled quietly, and Winter gave her a small glare, though it was difficult to look upset when she was so close to finally marrying the woman of her dreams.

"Don't act so high and mighty, Weiss. I know for a fact that you almost married your teammates the minute Yang and Ruby proposed."

"I suppose that's true."

"Your engagement was shorter than mine," Winter noted.

"Yes, but at least I knew when it was happening. Could plan for it," Weiss replied.

"Well, I suppose that my Penny is a tad bit more excitable than your Ruby and Yang are," Winter said patiently.

" **Your** Penny?" Weiss asked with a small smirk.

Winter flushed just a bit and tried to glare at her younger sister despite her embarrassment.

"Yes. We _are_ getting married today."

"And you're carrying her child," Weiss said, still smirking in that same _insufferable_ way that made Winter want to wipe the smile right off of her face, perhaps with a good, solid smack.

The eldest Schnee considered for a moment, wondering if that was how other people felt about her all the time. She wasn't completely sure, but she decided to ignore that question for now. She had more pressing matters to attend to.

"That was an accident," Winter snapped.

"Does that make this a shotgun wedding?" Yang asked from where she was seated beside her own sister.

Winter glared darkly at her.

"Of course it doesn't," she hissed at her.

"But you're pregnant," Yang started to count on her fingers, "Penny's the other parent that got you pregnant, you've been engaged for five weeks, and now you're getting married suddenly. That's, like, the definition of a shotgun wedding."

"Nobody here is threatening Penny if she doesn't marry me," Winter replied quickly, though she found herself wondering why she had dignified the blond with a response after everything she had said.

"Correction," a familiar voice said, the words were weighed heavily by sarcasm and self righteousness, " **I** am threatening Penny if she doesn't marry you."

Winter and Weiss turned to see their brother standing at the doorway.

"No, you're not," Winter said quickly, but she found herself grinning despite herself.

"Wow, the two of you really **have** changed since we last spoke," Whitley remarked, glancing at their stomachs.

Weiss growled and threw some of her makeup tools at him.

"Of course I've changed," Weiss hissed, "I'm thirty-three weeks pregnant with quadruplets. Now stop being such a jerk and help me get Winter ready. She's getting married, you know."

"I **do** know, though I still can't quite believe that a sentient woman decided to marry her."

"Watch it," Winter growled.

"What?! I didn't even **mention** the fact that you're marrying a robot-" Winter raised her hand as she started to interject, but Whitley raised his own to dissuade her, "-with and Aura, yes, Winter, I know, you've mentioned that more than enough times."

Winter threw something else at him, she wasn't sure what it was, considering she had grabbed it blindly before throwing it at him with as much force as she could muster. The mystery object struck him in the face and he let out a yelp, stumbling backwards and clutching at where it had hit him.

"Rude!" he called. "That's not how you greet your brother after months of being away!"

"And you don't greet your sister with harsh words on her wedding day **about** her soon to be wife!" Winter hissed.

"That's fair."

Weiss sniffed at the pair.

"Stop arguing, you're making her squirm around and that's messing up her makeup," she snapped at her siblings. She internally cursed being the middle child and the fact that it made her have to be the mediator of the Schnee family. Even if she wasn't a Schnee, exactly, anymore. She was a Belladonna-Schnee, which Weiss thought was infinitely better than what she used to be, what **family** she used to be, but she was still a part of the old one, even if she had new children on the way. A new family to start.

And even if Winter was starting her own, they'd always been Schnees-

Weiss suddenly hesitated, eyes focusing on her actual sister instead of her makeup or appearance.

"Are you taking her last name?" Weiss asked with a small smile, continuing to fix her makeup. She knew there were a couple of options for the soon to be wives. Perhaps hyphenating, like the Belladonna-Schnee family, or one to change, like Velvet had taken Coco's last name.

(As a side note, Velvet had been exceedingly excited about taking her wife's last name, saying something about marrying **the** Coco Adel. Coco had replied that now her wife could be **the** Velvet Adel. That had been more than enough to seal the deal on the last name deal, and Coco had gotten a reward for the simple words that made Fox shove the two apart before splashing the pair with water and muttering something about them being disgusted).

Winter hesitated to answer the question, taking a moment to think about it.

"I'm... I'm not sure which last name we're going to choose. I want to keep the Schnee family name alive, but if Penny wants to hyphenate, then I'd be more than happy to be Winter Schnee-Polendina. Or Polendina-Schnee."

"Oh no you don't!" Weiss suddenly snapped, causing both of her siblings to stare at her. "If you hyphenate, you're taking Schnee-Polendina."

"Weiss, you're my sister and I care for you deeply, but I am not going to let you decide Penny and I's last name, not to mention our children-"

"The Schnee name is not going to be the second part of a hyphenation. Not again," Weiss said, reaching down to grab Winter's hand in her own.

"You said you were happy about being a Belladonna-Schnee!" Yang cried, throwing up her hands in frustration.

"I am, but I'm not going to let Schnee be second again," Weiss replied primly, giving her wife a small smile. Yang rolled her eyes, crossing her legs as she leaned back against the wall.

Yang was about to speak, but she felt her scroll vibrate in her pocket, and she scrambled to grab it.

 **Lesbro:** _Landed._

**Yang:** _On my way!_

Yang scurried out of the room without another word, racing off to find the groom so that she could attend to her best man duties.

-

Ruby laughed as she watched Penny stare at the makeup, frowning just slightly in confusion. She tilted her head to the side with a look of slight awe.

"What _is_ that?" she whispered to Ruby conspiratorially.

"It's makeup, Pen."

"Oh! I've heard of that!" Penny said excitedly, her eyes wide with excitement.

Ren watched the robotic girl, not seeming amused in the slightest. But Ruby could tell he was, despite his face being so bland.

"Please sit still, Penny, or I won't be able to do your makeup in time for the ceremony."

Penny immediately sat straight up, keeping her posture perfect as Ren leaned forward and started to do the makeup.

Ruby was **beaming** with excitement, and she glanced to the side so that she could see Blake sitting there.

The faunus gave her a small smile before she looked to the bride... or, well, one of the four brides of the day.

Ruby leaned over to the side so that she could put her head on Blake's shoulder gently.

"Are you taking Winter's name?" Blake asked idly, reaching her hand down so that she could stroke Ruby's stomach idly. The team leader had given up trying to stop the faunus from doing so a few weeks ago, not wanting to put up the fight anymore. The cat faunus was so innocent and sweet with her excitement for their children to be born, so it was difficult for Ruby to ever be mad at her... Weiss, however, always seemed to find a way to show Blake how frustrated she was by her unconditional love.

Penny tilted her head to the side, concentrating.

"Fiancée Winter wants to hyphenate our last names."

"She does?" Ruby asked, sure that she had to distract her best friend so that Penny wouldn't start wriggling and stop Ren from getting any more progress.

"She hasn't said it, but I know Fiancée Winter very well. She loves her family name, loves the history that comes with it, but she doesn't want to be weighed down by just being a Schnee. She's so much more than that. She wants to be Schnee-Polendina."

"In that order?" Blake asked with a small smirk, remembering her small fight with Weiss about their own last names.

Penny furrowed her brows, making Ren let out a small breath in frustration, and glanced at Blake quickly.

"Of course she wants it in that order."

Blake held up her hands quickly.

"I'm sorry for asking," the faunus said, glancing at Ruby with that same smile.

Ruby snorted, falling closer to the faunus as she continued to chuckle.

"The Schnees really are **too** similar, aren't they?" Blake whispered.

Penny watched the two wives laugh with a small frown, wondering why they were so amused.

She would have said something, but Ren grabbed her face in both of his hands and tilted it toward him, muttering something about demanding for her to stay still, and getting back to work.

Penny didn't speak after that, instead running dozens upon dozens of thoughts through her head, all of them focused on her fiancée.

She couldn't stop smiling.

Blake heard her scroll buzz on the table, and she regretfully pulled herself away from her wife to grab it.

**Ilia:** _We just landed. Sun told me to text you._

**Blake:** _I'm on my way._

The faunus shoved her scroll into her pocket before reaching over across the table to grab a few articles of clothing before she raced out of the room to find her best friend.

Just a bit of the duties that were required by the maid of honor. A small smile grew across the cat faunus' face at the thoughts.

Her best friend was getting **married**! How could she not be excited for her?

Ruby and Yang certainly were, and even Weiss seemed almost _giddy_ to help her sister with her wedding as well.

-

Yang burst outside and scrambled to a stop as the airship started to open. She paused to make sure that everything she was carrying was concealed and in place before she walked the last few steps.

She smiled up at Sun as he all but skipped outside, beaming down at her enthusiastically.

"Yang!" he called.

"Sun!" she cheered.

"I'm getting **married**!" he yelled.

"I know! I organized it!" Yang replied.

Sun bounced over to her and slid his arm into hers.

"Then lead the way, oh great best man!"

"To the ceremonies!" Yang said formally, making her friend's tone.

The pair raced toward the house, leaving Ilia and Pyrrha behind to be picked up by their partners for preparations.

As Blake stepped outside, Yang gave her a grin, a wink, and a shot of finger guns before she continued to take her friend inside.

"Don't even worry about a _thing_ , Lesbro!" Sun cheered at the nickname, giving her a wide grin. "I planned out **everything** for today, and you're going to **love** it! Leave it to your best man!"

"You don't look very best manly," Sun replied, raising an eyebrow playfully.

"Sun, you wore a dress to my wedding."

Sun remained silent, and Yang sighed, pulling to the side.

"I was going to wait until we got to the changing room for the two of us, but...," Yang sighed again and reached down to ruffle through the things she had carried to greet him with.

Finally, she pulled out her clothes, a nice black tux with a yellow tie that didn't exactly go with it, but definitely went with both her and Sun's personality. But that wasn't what Sun focused on.

Yang reached down and grabbed a fake mustache (a _blond_ fake yellow mustache) and set it on her face with a wry grin on her lips.

Sun cheered excitedly, but only got louder as Yang continued, reaching her hands up to her hair to tie it up until it looked far shorter.

Yang cleared her throat, speaking deeper a moment later in an exaggerated way.

"Yes, hello, I am the best man, lesbro of the century, here to take control of your wedding to make it perfect."

Sun burst out laughing, doubling over as he did so.

Yang rolled her eyes, grabbing him by the tail and dragging him down the hallway.

"Come on, lesbro, we've got a lot to do before you're wedding-ready."

-

Blake grabbed Ilia by the hand, giving her a small smile, and led her inside.

"I'm going to help you get ready. Today's going to be **perfect**!" Blake said, beaming at the chameleon faunus before she held open the door for her best friend.

"It's already amazing, so you don't have to work so hard," Ilia said.

"I'm going to anyways," Blake replied.

Ilia gave her a fond smile as she took a seat.

Blake pulled out the makeup, and Ilia leaned back quickly when the cat faunus tried to use it.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, you aren't good at makeup, and I hate to say it, but today is very important and I want it to be done well-"

Blake gave her a small smile, reaching forward to grab Ilia's chin in her hand before grabbing the makeup tools.

"I've been practicing, Ilia, specifically for today! Don't worry, it's going to be great, and you're going to look even more beautiful than you already do right now."

Ilia smile at her as Blake got to work.

"Are you excited?" Blake asked idly, starting her work on Ilia's cheeks.

"Of course I am!" Ilia replied enthusiastically. "You know what it's like to get married to the loves of you life."

"Of course I do. It was one of the best days of my life," Blake replied with a small, distant expression on her face. She was clearly remembering the details from her own wedding.

"Blake, this might sound rude, but I can't believe I ever liked you."

" **Might** sound rude?" the cat faunus said, but she was smirking just slightly as she continued her work.

"You know what I mean," Ilia said, rolling her eyes. "And it's just... you were great, Blake, you still are, but I **definitely** prefer you as a maid of honor to bride."

"I'm glad," Blake said, her voice sounding monotone.

Ilia rolled her eyes again, reaching forward to smack her arm playfully. Blake barely avoided messing up the chameleon faunus' makeup.

"What I'm trying to say is... you're a great friend, my best one, actually, and I love you, but... you're not **them**."

Blake smiled fondly down at the other faunus, nodding her head knowingly.

"I know what you mean."

"Sun and Pyrrha... they're **perfect**. I mean, Pyrrha's constantly apologizing and she's **way** too nice... and Sun can be a bit overwhelming and can never take anything serious, but...," Ilia sighed fondly, her eyes growing distant as she leaned closer to the other faunus. "But I love that about them. I love them **so** much."

Blake nodded knowingly, leaning closer.

"I love them so much," Ilia breathed.

Blake found herself wondering if she was going to have to listen to her best friend say that on repeat for the next hour. If so, she could live with it... even if it would be a bit difficult. She'd do it with a smile on her face and listen to the other woman without complaint.

"I used to worry that... that I wasn't good enough for Pyrrha," Blake went to interrupt, but Ilia continued to speak, "and then I fell in love with Sun **while** I was dating her. Dust, Blake, I felt so guilty, like I was the worst person in the world. But then... then they **both** wanted to date me _and_ each other. That just made me feel even more lucky for having both of them, like I didn't deserve either of them, much less the pair together. But now...," Ilia took a second to think, shaking her head fondly. "But now I realize that's not what love is about. It's not about _deserving_ someone, or not being good enough... but being with someone you love that loves you too, and wanting to be a better person for them."

Blake stopped her work to reach forward, cradling Ilia's face with a fond smile.

"You're right. I'm so glad that you finally came to terms with this... and besides, I know that it's not important, but... you're more than worthy of them."

Ilia laughed quietly.

"Thanks."

"Don't laugh, I'm serious. You're one of the best people I've ever met. You're kind, smart, sweet, and so, _so_ loyal. When nobody else is there, you are. You were at Pyrrha's defense when she needed you most, willing to sacrifice yourself for her despite not knowing she loved you back. You were willing to never mention your feelings for Sun, and were even beating yourself up for having them, just to make Pyrrha happy. And now you're willing to sacrifice yourself for either of them whenever you have to."

Ilia was crying now, and Blake was wiping away the tears quickly, already switching the makeup she had been using out for the waterproof set. She should have done that immediately, but had thought that the chameleon faunus would be able to hold out for a while before crying... she should have known better considering she herself hadn't been able to wait that long before she'd cried at her wedding.

"And I've been showing you romance tips, so I'm sure that you're going to have the best vows of the wedding. Just like I did," Blake said with a small smirk on her face. Weiss and Ruby still _raved_ about her vows, and occasionally watched the recording that Velvet had made on the day of their wedding.

"I don't know... Pyrrha is pretty romantic... and I haven't gotten that far into my vows!" Ilia cried. She hadn't expected their wedding to be so early!

Blake continued her makeup work, but she smirked and leaned closer to the chameleon faunus.

"Then I guess that it's a good thing that you chose the best romance expert you know as your maid of honor, isn't it?"

Ilia **beamed** at the words.

-

Pyrrha laughed as she was pulled into a changing room.

Her best man was already trying to get things ready for her, scrambling around hurriedly. He was a little disorganized, but he had clearly put a lot of thought into it and had everything Pyrrha needed.

"Okay... okay! I'm ready!" Jaune cried.

Pyrrha grinned and nodded, moving closer to her best friend and reaching down to grab her dress.

She was almost completely certain that she was the only one in her relationship that was wearing a dress to their wedding (although she had no clue what Winter and Penny were going to be doing), because Ilia loved a good suit, but Sun...

Well, Sun had worn a dress to team RWBY's wedding, but a suit to Velvet and Coco's, so he was basically a wildcard. She smiled at the thought and leaned closer to her best friend as he leapt forward with a makeup kit.

"Are you sure-"

"Don't worry! I know how to put on makeup now! I learned from Ren! He's such a good boyfriend..."

Pyrrha smiled at her best man, letting him start her makeup a moment later.

"Aw, thank you," she said, letting out a long breath as she let her eyes fall shut.

"No problem! I'm so glad you let me be your best man!" Jaune cried, starting the process of getting her ready.

"Of course I did!" Pyrrha replied happily. "You're my best friend."

"You're my best friend too," he said quietly, giving her a small smile.

"Speaking of Ren, by the way, you think you three are getting close to having a wedding of your own?" Pyrrha asked with a small grin.

"Pyrrha, I love you, you're my best friend, like I just said, and today is **your** big day, and I'm not going to ruin it by freaking out about that question."

Pyrrha laughed quietly, shaking her head.

"Fine, but this conversation **will** be continued."

Jaune grimaced and Pyrrha just continued to grin excitedly.

"Fine! But not right now because today is your wedding day and I'm here to make sure it's perfect."

Pyrrha nodded and let him get her makeup done.

"Are you taking Sun's name?" Jaune asked idly.

Pyrrha smiled fondly.

"They both **love** my last name, apparently," she said.

"Can't blame them," the team leader muttered before Pyrrha continued.

"So they decided they just both wanted to take my last name too."

"You're not even hyphenating it?"

"I thought it would be sweet to do that," Pyrrha said, "but then they started chanting 'Nikos, Nikos, Nikos!' and then practicing introducing themselves with my last name instead of their own."

"Sounds like them."

Pyrrha smiled fondly.

"Yeah... yeah it does," she breathed, her eyes growing distant as she thought about the other two.

-

An hour later, everyone was dressed and prepared for the weddings, and the music started to play.

Sun was the first that walked down the aisle, that being the only thing that was really traditional about the wedding.

He was walked down the aisle by his best man, who still had on her fake mustache and a wide grin as she guided him.

Sun was dressed in a suit. The suit was trim and polished, and was a dark shade of black that was contradicted by the blond tie that he wore, which matched Yang's own (the two hadn't planned it and had been super excited to see they matched).

"You okay, monkey man?" Yang whispered as they stood at the front.

"Okay?! Yang, I'm happier than I've ever been! Okay?! I'm getting **married** tod-"

Sun cut off suddenly when he saw a familiar form start to walk down the aisle. His face flushed red as Ilia was walked down the aisle by her maid of honor. She and Blake were both wearing dresses, but Sun though that Ilia looked drop dead gorgeous anyways. She had her hair loose for once, having foregone the ponytail because of how many times Sun had mentioned how much he loved her hair being down. The idea that she had changed her appearance at the wedding specifically to make him happier was too much for Sun, and he almost keeled over right there at the alter. Yang subtly reached out and set a hand on his back to steady him before he had the chance to hit the floor.

Ilia's suit was a navy blue color, a brighter color than her normal black clothing, but she was pulling it off **fantastically** if you asked the excitable Sun. Her tie was a matching color, and Sun thought he might _actually_ faint when she stepped up to him.

"Hey," Ilia said with a small, shy smile that she tried to make seem more confident.

"Hey yourself," Sun replied easily, leaning against the wall.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know how to tie this, do you might?" Ilia asked. She held up her tie with a small smile.

Sun's eyes widened in disbelief. He had learned how to tie a tie specifically for today, considering he had had Ilia doing it for him since they had met and hadn't had to learn until he realized she couldn't tie it on the day of their wedding without seeing his suit early.

"Ils...," he breathed.

Ilia just beamed up at him, and Sun's heart melted.

"Oh, please, who doesn't know how to tie a tie?" Sun asked, tail wagging excitedly as he leaned down, bringing up his hands to start the process. Ilia smiled gently up at him as he finished.

"Thanks," she whispered.

He was about to respond (meanwhile, Blake gave Ilia a subtle thumbs up), but was interrupted when the pair saw another figure walking up the aisle.

Pyrrha was the only one wearing a dress, and she was more than pulling it off. It was the traditional shade of white for a bride. She had a veil over her face, but she looked stunning even when they couldn't see her face.

Ilia wondered if it was good that her face was covered, considering the fact that she hoped Pyrrha wouldn't be able to see Ilia's scales turning red.

"Dust," Ilia whispered, "why did I decide to marry two hot people? I should have known that I would never be able to get through a minute without getting distracted."

"I know right?" Sun whispered back.

Pyrrha was being led down the aisle by her mother, and when she stepped to the front, Ilia and Sun glanced at each other.

Ilia took a deep breath and forced the redness from her scales as she nodded at Sun.

The pair both reached forward one hand and, together, they flipped the veil backward so that they could see Pyrrha's face.

The three smiled at each other with slightly goofy expressions on their faces (with the exception of Sun, who looked **exceedingly** goofy).

Several people in the audience seemed to think that they were waiting for Penny and Winter to join them, but the two relationships had decided to do their ceremonies back to back instead of at the same time.

The officiant started the wedding, but the three barely heard him.

"We are here on this magnificent and beautiful day to celebrate one of life’s greatest moments – we are all present to give recognition to the worth and beauty of love – and to publicly witness the creation of an outward marriage bond that Ilia, Pyrrha, and Sun have already been creating inwardly. Their love and intention has created this marriage and we are gathered here today to join in the celebration and acknowledgment of that bonding," the officiant took a moment to think before he turned to Ilia, Sun, and Pyrrha. "I presume that the three of you have already prepared your own vows?"

Sun's tail was wagging back and forth enthusiastically.

Ilia and Pyrrha shared a fond smile at their soon-to-be husband as he started to speak first.

"You two... you two were the perfect couple when I met you. You had been together _forever_ , sacrificed so much for each other, and bonded over so much... and I was the new guy in the group, but... but you two were the first to make me feel welcome, even though I was the seventeenth wheel in the group. You were great friends for me for so long, but... I found myself falling for you without even trying. In fact, I was trying **not** to! But I couldn't. You two were both so perfect, and I fell hard. But I couldn't do anything about it. I could never come between the two of you, but... but I was lucky enough that the two of you were willing to extend an invitation for me to join your relationship. That... that was the greatest day of my life... until now. Now today is the new best day of my life, but I know that it won't be for long, because everyday day with you two is perfect. I used to worry that you two were too close for me to ever break through and be as much a part of the relationship as you two are... but, just like when we met, you made me feel so welcome. I love you both so much, and I'm the luckiest man in the world for getting to marry not one of you, but **both** of you!"

All three of them were crying, and the audience was watching them with tears in their eyes.

Ilia took a deep breath while Pyrrha gestured at her to go next. Her heart hammered in her chest nervously, but she drew strength from the two people she loved standing at the alter with her.

"When I fell in love with Pyrrha, I had already condemned myself to living the rest of my life at your side without ever getting the chance to hold your hand in mine, to fall asleep by your side, to kiss you... but I've gotten the chance to do all that and so much more. When I was younger, I would have said that I didn't deserve your perfection, though not because of your popularity. I think you're a wonderful woman, the best I've ever met before, and I used to think that meant I should always be nervous about you realizing you deserved better. And the same happened when I fell in love with you, Sun. I felt like I'd betrayed Pyrrha, and when the three of us got together, I felt like I had stolen the heart of two people so far out of my league, and now I had to worry twice as much that one day the two of you would realize that I wasn't worthy of you. But now I realize that those were **my** personal feelings of inadequacy and my own fears. That's not how love works, and I want you both to know that... I love you both so much, and I'm so happy that we're getting married... and I want you to know that you two have taught me the definition of love in a way that I've never known before you. Love is unconditional, forgiving, blind, and beautiful. And... because of you three, I've learned that I'm worthy of love."

Pyrrha and Sun were gaping at Ilia, and she flushed a bit red, looking away from the pair.

"What? I can grow as a person," she muttered with a small smile.

Pyrrha took a deep breath as they all calmed down, getting ready to say her own vows.

"All my life, it's felt like everyone has treated me different because of who I am, because of my last name, but you two have always treated me like a normal person... even if you treated me like a **great** person... but that was because you knew me for **me**. You didn't say that because of anything else but my personality, and... I've never felt more loved than when you two were at my side. I've never appreciated it when people talked about my last name, but you two, like all things, were the only exception. The only time I've ever enjoyed people talking about my last name was when you two decided that you loved me so much that you wanted to take it for yourselves. You're the two best people I've ever met, and I'm so happy that you've both been able to move on from worrying that you weren't worthy of our relationship, because that was the only part of our relationship that I didn't enjoy. I love you both so much, and I'm so happy that I'm finally up here with you today."

The three were crying again, and they reached out to grab the rings.

"Do you, Pyrrha, take these two to be your lawfully wedded wife and husband?" the officiant asked.

"I do," she breathed, slipping the ring onto Ilia's hand.

"Do you, Ilia, take these two to be your lawfully wedded wife and husband?" the officiant asked.

"I do," she said, sliding the ring onto Sun's hand.

"Do you, Sun, take these two to be your lawfully wedded wives?" the officiant asked.

"I do!" he cried, tail wagging as he put the last ring on Pyrrha's hand.

"You may now... kiss each other," the officiant said.

There was a beat of silence before Sun gestured for the other two to go first, a small smile on his face.

Pyrrha and Ilia shared an eye roll before the redhead leaned forward, giving Sun a quick, but passionate, kiss.

When she pulled back, Ilia reached up and grabbed Sun around the neck to pull him down for the second kiss.

When they were done, Ilia finally turned to Pyrrha with a small smile, connecting their lips gently.

Applause broke out as the three joined hands, moving to the side so that they could sign the wedding certificate.

The three happily hurried over while the next couple got ready.

Winter was led down the aisle by a very pregnant Weiss (people tried not to laugh at that, and Weiss gave anyone that did a death glare, making an internal list of them so that she could have Blake and Yang beat them up for her later. Those two had been doing that for Weiss ever since she'd gotten pregnant, and she had started to take advantage of that fact).

Winter was shaking slightly, but she tried to stand tall. She was in her pale white wedding dress, and she internally cursed when she saw that several people were laughing at the former special agent. Well, nobody was laughing **at** her (with the notable exception of Neo), but more like they were laughing because they found her nervousness cute, considering she was typically unflappable and emotionally withdrawn. But Penny was always the exception.

As if her thoughts had summoned her, the robotic girl appeared, led down the aisle by her father. Her father was already in tears, and so was Penny. Winter didn't know she could do that... had she had upgrades recently, or had Penny just never felt the need to cry?

She suddenly remembered last week when Penny had left for the day to visit her father, who must have given her a few upgrades since then. Penny had even voiced her sympathy for Winter and her morning sickness, which was suspicious.

But Winter didn't get the chance to follow that line of thought, considering she was distracted by her soon-to-be wife. Penny looked **beautiful** , she always did to Winter, and she didn't care how the robotic girl looked. And yet... **wow**. She was wearing an elegant white dress that trailed behind her just slightly, and the sun glinted off of it so beautifully that Winter thought Penny was actually glowing.

Maybe the sun really **was** glinting off Penny, considering she was metallic, but Penny definitely didn't feel as if she was made of metal. She was warm and soft when she took Winter's hands in her own. Winter flushed at the gentle touch Penny gave to her hands, looking up at the former heiress.

The officiant had opening remarks, but Winter was far too distracted by Penny to listen to them. She supposed she'd have to watch the video that Velvet was taking to remember what he had said.

She only found herself paying attention when she heard Penny start speaking her vows.

"Winter," the former heiress was surprised by Penny calling her by her first name, "you're the nicest person I've ever met. I've heard so many people talk about you being harsh or rude, but I could never understand why anyone would think that about you. You make me feel like a real person. Before we started dating, I never completely understood emotions, at least the romantic ones. But you've taught me so many things about love and life, showed me that even a robot with an Aura can have a soulmate. You're the love of my life, and you showed me that I deserve to have not only love, but a life. You're the most wonderful and sweetest person I've ever met, and you showed me a whole new way of organizing my emotional files of people... and by that, I mean you taught me how to connect to people in a real way. You're the best person I've ever met, and I can't believe that I get to stand up here with you today."

Winter had tried her hardest not to, but she was already crying. That made many people stare at her in disbelief.

"Penny, you're not a robot. You've never been one to me. You **are** a real person, and most days I think you're more so than I am. You're the one person in my life that brings out the human in me, the one person that makes me feel like there's good to me, and I love you so much not just for that, but for who you are. You're the best person I've ever met, and you being a robot does not affect that in the slightest. You're perfection and," Winter sniffed, knowing she couldn't go any further without breaking down completely, and nobody wanted to see that in the slightest. "And I love you so much."

"I love you too," Penny whispered.

"Penny, do you take Winter to be your lawfully wedded wife?" the officiant asked.

"I DO!" Penny all but screamed.

"And Winter, do you take Penny to be your lawfully wedded wife?" the officiant asked.

"I do," Winter said gently.

Penny beamed at her as they exchanged rings.

"You may now kiss the brides."

Penny bounced forward and grabbed Winter around the waist, lifting her into the air some before connecting their lips.

Winter smiled into the kiss, letting herself melt into the kiss. She didn't care that she was crying, nor that people were watching. Just that she had Penny here in her arms.


	99. Water

Weiss was having a normal day in class, really, she was. She was thirty-six weeks pregnant, meaning that she was due in two. She had two days before she and Ruby went on maternity leave, but Yang and Blake were planning their own maternity leave to start the day of the birth. She was feeling fine. Her stomach hurt a bit, but, at this point in the pregnancy, Weiss was used to it, and she seldom ever felt like her stomach was normal.

The only peculiar part of class was that Ivy (the student that Weiss was still trying to get over being scared of, despite having been trying for months) was curled up beside Alea (the annoyingly flirtatious girl that Weiss swore was trying to seduce Blake and Yang, but she didn't have any proof, so she couldn't do anything about it).

Alea had her arm wrapped around Ivy's shoulders, and the creepiest member of team ORIN had her head resting against Alea's chest. Natalie and Rachel, surprisingly, didn't seem to mind, taking notes a Winter gave her lecture. Winter had just gotten back from her honeymoon with Penny, and the students were still getting used to calling her Mrs. Schnee-Polendina. Weiss swore that her sister **almost** smiled every time, but she wasn't completely certain.

Ivy suddenly sat up straight, her eyes becoming focused for the first time since she'd walked into the room.

Alea glanced down at her, raising an eyebrow wordlessly.

"Did you know that there are three stages of labor?"

Alea dropped her pen.

"Oh my dust," she muttered, eyes darting to Ivy. "Now? As in... **now** now?!"

Ivy nodded.

"Ives, is it-"

"No," Ivy replied, not looking distracted.

Alea vaulted over her desk immediately.

"Rachel, I need you to go find all three of the other Mrs. Belladonna-Schnees right now, and don't hold back your reserves. Oscar, call an ambulance."

Winter was stepping forward now.

"Ms. Ajax, I must insist that you take your seat before-"

Alea spun to face her teacher, flaring her semblance as high as it would go.

Rachel scrambled out of her seat to do as she was told as Winter faltered, staring at the student with a slightly conflicted expression on her face.

"Mrs. Schnee-Polendina, I'm afraid that class might have to be cut a bit short. Ives," she spun to face her friend, "I need you talking Weiss through this."

"A doula is a woman, typically without formal obstetric training, who is employed to provide guidance and support to a pregnant woman during labor," Ivy said.

Alea hesitated before she turned to Natalie.

"Nat, I need you to help me translate for her."

"What's going on?" Natalie asked, but she was already hurrying to do as the team leader had instructed.

Before Alea could respond, Weiss' eyes suddenly widened and she leaned back against the desk, letting out a small hiss of pain as her hand shot to her stomach.

Winter immediately snapped out of the intimidated daze that Alea's semblance had put her in, hurrying to her sister's side.

"What's wrong?" she asked, staring down at Weiss' stomach worriedly.

"I... I think my water just broke."

Alea didn't let that slow her. Meanwhile, Natalie and Ivy were hurrying to Weiss' side.

"Stacey, get her a change of clothes," Alea said, not even watching to make sure that her girlfriend carried out the order.

The door slammed open, and Blake burst inside, panting slightly with a crazed look in her eyes.

"What's going on?! Is Weiss alright?!" she cried.

"Her water just broke," Winter answered, trying to keep her voice neutral, but it came out slightly shaky.

Blake froze, eyes widening even more.

"Oh my dust," she breathed, shaking her head to clear herself of her shock before she raced to Weiss' side.

A moment later, the door burst open again, this time revealing Yang, carrying her sister in the arms. She'd done so because she'd known that Ruby wouldn't be able to run so pregnant.

Ivy sat beside Weiss as Blake helped lower her to the ground.

"Typically, it is recommended to go to the hospital when contractions are three to four minutes apart and last sixty seconds," Ivy said.

"She said that you've got a while before you're going to have to actually deliver, because you haven't had your first-"

Weiss suddenly grabbed onto the closest arm she could find (Yang's metallic one) and she squeezed, letting out a loud sound of pain and cutting off Natalie's words.

"Well... I guess that was the first one, but we've still got more than enough time to get you to the hospital!" Natalie said helpfully.

Just then, Rachel came skidding into the room, her body still glowing gray with her semblance turned on.

"I got it!" she cried, handing Blake a large duffel bag, which the cat faunus threw over her shoulder.

On the side, it was labeled, in large red lettering, "Go Bag."

Blake was quietly thankful that she had gotten the bag to the school in case of an emergency, but she still couldn't believe that this was actually happening.

She was going to meet her **children** today! The idea was so distracting that Blake was only brought back to the moment by Weiss' screaming.

Ruby hesitated as she put her hand on the former heiress' thigh.

"Uh, that sounded like less than four minutes," she said shakily. Yang subtly smacked her sister in the back of the head.

"Not helping," she whispered quietly enough to Ruby that Weiss couldn't overhear.

"Sorry!" Ruby hissed, rubbing at the back of her head.

"The hospital says that they can't send an ambulance unless she is **actively** giving birth!" Oscar called, holding his hand against the scroll to cover the noise from being transferred.

Blake growled and shook her head.

"We'll have to take her in the van when it's time. She is **not** giving birth here," the cat faunus paused to think for a moment before she went to paw through her go bag. She pulled out a water bottle and passed it to Weiss. "It's good to stay hydrated."

Weiss glared at Blake before she snatched the bottle. She downed quickly, causing almost everyone in the room to stare at her in utter shock. Blake, however, didn't miss a beat and reached into her bag to grab another bottle.

Weiss grabbed it, but didn't move to drink it.

Ivy was now looking exceedingly worried.

"Mrs. Belladonna-Schnee," Ivy spoke slowly, as if the words were foreign to her and she was having difficulty translating from one language to another, "I can... sense things that others cannot, as you know, and I know that, because you are having quadruplets, you are not going to have a typical birth for them..."

"What does that mean?!" Yang instantly demanded, eyes flickering red.

Ivy was about to speak, but Alea put a hand on her head, eyes flashing with understanding.

"Your labor isn't normal, it's happening quick, and you need to get to the hospital right now."

Ivy nodded emphatically, giving her friend a thankful look for the translation.

Yang and Blake shared a look before the blond leaned down to wrap Weiss in her arms, holding her gently.

"Okay, we can do that! Let's get you to the car, Angel. I can get you there in no time! You know that I'm a reckless driver!"

Weiss was still holding Yang's mechanical arm in a death grip, but she nodded anyways.

Her eyes were filled with fear, and her free arm was resting over her stomach worriedly.

"Mrs. Belladonna-Schnee," Ivy was now jogging beside team RWBY as they rushed to the van, "I'm afraid that I may have scared you. Your children are perfectly safe! You just need to get to the hospital soon!"

Weiss let out a breath of relief, relaxing just slightly.

That lasted for about a minute before she was tense again, grabbing Yang's arm in a death grasp.

Yang winced as she thought she heard the sound of scraping metal, but she ignored it for her wife's sake.

Blake opened the door for Yang, who set down Weiss gently before sitting down herself in the driver's seat. Ruby crawled in before Blake finally sat down, slamming the door shut.

Yang started up the car and was about to drive away, but the back door was suddenly slammed open.

Winter all but threw herself into one of the backseats, earning her a weird look from Blake.

"I want to be there for my sister and my nieces and nephews. I promise that I will not be a hindrance."

Penny giggled at her wife's words, sitting down on the floor of the car beside Winter and giving Ruby a supportive thumbs up.

"Yeah! What she said!" Sun cheered as he leapt into the van. He was quickly followed by both of his wives and the rest of their team.

"No way am I missing this," Coco said, pulling herself inside.

 _'Heck yeah!'_ Neo signed, plopping onto a seat and pulling Ciel into her lap to 'save more seats for other people.'

"How many of you are coming?" Blake asked in disbelief.

"All of us!" Nora cheered as Oscar scrambled inside, tugging his boyfriend in behind him.

"I may not understand what possessed the four of you to desire so many children at such a young age, but as her brother, it is my duty to be there for Weiss today," Whitley said.

Oscar gave him a fond smile and Blake rolled her eyes as the final two members, Fox and Yatsu, hurried inside.

"Who's going to teach?" Blake asked as the door was slammed shut.

"School's cancelled, all the teachers are on strike today," Coco said with a wave of her hand. "Now are you going to drive or not?!"

Yang instantly slammed on the accelerator, bringing the car out of the parking lot at breakneck speeds.

Ruby scrambled and pulled out her scroll, sending out a message to her father and knowing that he would drive the other parents (plus Qrow and Elm) to the hospital to meet them.

Despite the van only having fifteen seats (as Blake pointed out while she was grumbling about the large group inside of it, though the words were undercut by the smile on her face), there were currently twenty people inside of it.

Neo and Ciel were sharing a seat to make room, Penny was seated on the floor by Winter, Ilia was in Pyrrha's lap (which had made their husband laugh hysterically), and Oscar and Jaune had been banished to the floor, squeezed in a corner to make room.

Blake let out a sigh, running a hand through her hair before she scrambled to look through her go bag, making sure that everything was in place. She had brought a change of clothes for each of them (in case the labor went wrong), but it seemed like that wouldn't be necessary for Weiss, considering she had already changed and was now about to be in a hospital gown once she was checked in. There were more things, and she was about to double check each item, but Ruby put a hand on her thigh, giving her a fond smile.

"Blakey, I'm sure that you've got everything. You check it every morning before class starts."

"But... but what if I'm not ready?! What if I forgot something or... or-or maybe-"

Ruby cut her off by leaning closer to her wife, setting her head on the panicking faunus' shoulder gently.

"This isn't about the go bag, is it?"

Blake sighed and shook her head, pulling Ruby closer.

"Blakey, you're more than ready. You read every single one of those parenting books at **least** three times," it had been four, actually, but Blake didn't think it was necessary to correct her wife when she was already trying to calm her down, "and you're going to be an **amazing** mother! You set everything up, you're super prepared, and you're the mo-"

Ruby suddenly cut off, her eyes going unbelievably wide.

Blake moved closer and wrapped her arms around the team leader.

"Sugar? Sugar, what's wrong?!"

"I know that it's," Ruby laughed awkwardly, " **really** not the time, but... my water just broke."

Blake blinked down at her, not seeming to understand the words despite how clearly they had been stated.

Her eyes slowly drifted down to Ruby's lap, and then bulged.

"Oh... oh! Your... your water just broke! Oh my dust, oh my dust," Blake muttered before she scrambled to grab a water for her wife, seeming to think that was of the utmost importance.

Ruby accepted it, not wanting to upset Blake even more considering how frazzled the faunus was at the moment.

"Her **what**?!" Yang cried, swerving the van just slightly in her shock. She straightened it after a moment, returning her gaze to in front of her, on the road, but she kept sending fervent glances toward her sister.

"Her water just broke, but that's alright, she's perfectly fine! We're already going to the hospital, she's going to be perfectly safe," Blake said calmingly.

She gave Ruby a small smile, about to continue, but Ruby let out a sound of pain, grabbing onto the faunus' arm and holding it tightly as she hit her first contraction.

Blake winced, but didn't take her eyes off of the road. She hoped they'd get there soon, because... Ivy was right. Everything was going **far** too fast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys ready for this?!


	100. Contractions

Blake felt the car come to a stop, and she threw open the door, grabbing onto Ruby and pulling her outside. She held her wife in her arms, not seeming to trust that the team leader could walk on her own without falling over or doing damage to herself and/or their children.

Ruby didn't seem to mind, and she groaned, leaning closer to the cat faunus.

One Yang had parked the car, she reached out and wrapped her arms around Weiss, carrying her in the same way that Blake was holding her sister.

Their friends scrambled out of the back and hurried inside with the four women and soon-to-be mothers.

Sun hurried forward and held the door open for them as Blake stepped into the hospital, setting Ruby down on one of the waiting chairs before she darted forward to the front desk.

Yang followed suit, Sun coming with just in case the two women were too distracted by the prospect of motherhood to get the job done.

"Hello, how can I help you?" the man asked Blake, not looking up from the papers.

"Two women are going into labor and need a room," Sun said when Blake and Yang hesitated, not seeming to know what to say. "Together! They're going to need a room together. Long story, not enough time to explain, but it's important and they're going to give birth, like, now."

"What?!" Weiss called from her seat. She would have continued speaking, but she clutched her stomach as another contraction hit.

She grabbed Ruby by the hand and squeezed. The team leader would have winced, but she had a contraction of her own and she squeezed back.

"W-well there's some paperwork that has to be filled out before they can get a room, and from the contractions I can tell that they're not ready to push yet and-"

Winter stepped forward, eyes narrowed as she reached her hand through the slit, grabbing the worker by the tie and pulling them forward.

"I can handle this," she said to Blake and Yang, "go take care of them."

Blake and Yang didn't need to be told twice, and they raced over to grab Ruby and Weiss as they finished their contractions.

Winter snapped her fingers, and Whitley seemed to understand. He sighed and reached into his pocket, grabbing his wallet.

Blake raised an eyebrow as she watched out of the corner of her eye. She was clearly wondering if the heir was going to try to bribe the man.

"My name is Whitley Schnee, and this is my sister, Weiss. She's going into labor, and if you make her wait another **minute** to get medical attention, then I'm going to sue this place and take you all down. Mark my words, you won't be able to get a job as a janitor!" Whitley hissed, showing off his ID.

Blake nodded slowly, a small smirk growing across her lips as she saw that the man behind the counter was already scrambling to get team RWBY a room.

Blake helped her wives to their feet while Yang made sure that they didn't fall over.

The two were acting far too protective of them, but Ruby and Weiss were too distracted to really care this time, so the two were able to take advantage of that.

A few minutes later, a few nurses came in with two wheelchairs for Weiss and Ruby, guiding them out of the room.

After a moment, the rest of the group, including Yang and Blake, went to follow.

"I'm sorry," a nurse said, stepping in front of Yang and Blake, "but only the father and family are allowed in the room for the birth." the nurse pointed his finger at Sun. "You can come through now."

Sun's eyes widened in disbelief and he waved his hands quickly, shaking his head.

"Father?! What?! No, no, no! I'm not the father! There **is** no father. Or, well, not technically, but they're like... the paternal mothers?" Sun pointed at Blake and Yang, who were both glowering at the nurse.

Before the nurse had the chance to respond, Blake stepped forward and glared down at him.

"Those two women in there are my **wives** , and the children they're about to have are **ours**. If you demand on standing in my way, then I'll have to make this quick so that I can be at their sides. But I swear that when we're done, I'll hunt you down and break every single bone in your body as a punishment. And if... if you make us miss a **second** of this, you'll wish that's the worst I did."

Everyone stared at Blake in shock, and the nurse scrambled out of the way. Yang grinned goofily, grabbing Blake's hand as the cat faunus led her down the hallway after Weiss and Ruby.

"Blake, seriously, if we weren't about to go watch our children be born, I would... well, let's just say that we'd have to go somewhere more private, because I think that might be the hottest thing you've ever done."

Blake sparred a glance at Yang, giving her a small smirk.

"I might have to take you up on that some other time, but right now-"

"We've got **much** more important matters to attend to, I know," Yang said with a grin, her expression growing impossibly more excited. "We're going to be **moms** , Blake!" she hissed. "Mothers!"

"I know," Blake said softly, leaning closer to her wife's side as they headed toward the room that they had seen Weiss and Ruby wheeled into earlier.

They opened the door and were followed in by a large group.

One of the doctors scrambled over, eyes wide.

"No, no, no! I'm sorry, but we can't allow so many people in the room for the birth. The fathers can stay, any siblings, and one friend, but-"

Blake rolled her eyes, grabbing Whitley and Winter and tugging them further into the room before she slammed the door. Yang was able to grab Sun by the tail and tug him inside before he was hit in the face, and the monkey faunus gained a goofy grin.

"Aw, sweet! I get to be here?!" he cried.

Blake rolled her eyes, but there was a small smile on her face.

"Of course. Now shut up, this is important."

"Right! Right!" Sun said, reaching one hand up and miming zipping his lips and throwing away the key.

Blake and Yang hurried over to Ruby and Weiss, the pair laying on two beds side by side as nurses milled around them.

"Hey," Blake said gently, putting a hand on each bed and giving both of her pregnant wives loving smiles. "How are you two feeling?"

"Like I'm giving birth, Blake!" Weiss snapped.

"Technically, you're still only having contractions and birth will likely not occur for a few hour-"

Blake's eyes shot to Sun, glaring, and Yang smacked him in the back of the head in an attempt to get him to shut up.

"Right! Sorry! Silent! My bad!" he cried, holding up his hands defensively and talking a set back. He shut his mouth, and Blake turned away.

"I'm feeling excite-"

Ruby stopped talking as she had another contraction, letting out a loud scream instead.

She reached out and grabbed Blake's hand, squeezing it tightly.

The faunus ground her teeth, trying to ignore the pain in her hand.

At least if it was broken, she was in a hospital, so she could get it taken care of before they left.

"I'm going to assume you were going to say you were excited, and that's great, Rubes! I'm excited too!" Yang said quickly, clearly trying to distract her sister from the pain she was in. Ruby was grateful for it, but she also **hated** it and turned her attention to taking deep breaths.

Yang realized she wasn't being distracting enough, so she stepped it up.

"So, Rubes, what type of faunus were you hoping they'd be? I forgot," Yang said.

The contraction stopped and Ruby turned her attention to her sister, raising an eyebrow.

"We've been over this **so** many times, Yang!"

"I'm sorry! I forgot!" Yang lied with ease.

As Ruby started to go on her rant, Blake turned her attention to Weiss.

"How about you? Feeling okay?" Blake asked gently.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"I'm about to give birth to four babies, so no! I'm not!"

A doctor froze.

"Did... did you say you're having quadruplets?" she asked.

Blake spun.

"Yes! Yes, did you not know? Weiss is having quadruplets and Ruby is having triplets," the cat faunus said.

The doctors all stopped and started to quietly talk to one another.

Finally, the head doctor turned to speak.

"With more than one or two children being delivered, it is typically recommended that the mother has a c section, so as to avoid any complications that could cause harm to the baby or themselves."

Blake glanced at her wives. She'd known this, and had brought it up with them a few times, but both Ruby and Weiss had said they weren't ready to make a decision yet.

"It is... also typical that faunus babies are delivered via c section as well, considering it is always likely that any extra limbs, such as tails, wings, etcetera, can cause complications as well," the doctor continued.

Finally, Blake groaned and leaned closer to her wives.

"Please. I know you're nervous about a c section, but it's the safest option, and-"

Weiss groaned and nodded.

"Fine. Fine! But only because I don't want any of them to get hurt."

"Weiss is right," Ruby said, sighing. "We need to be careful."

Blake positively **beamed** , glad that she'd introduced her wives to this possibility earlier so that they could get used to it before this.

Blake started to purr, and Weiss let out a sound of pain.

"Blake, I love you, but shut up," she hissed.

Blake instantly stopped the purring, nodding quickly.

"Right! Sorry," she replied, a small smile on her face as she watched her wives.

They were going to be **mothers**! The day had finally come!

The doctors and nurses milled around the room, focusing on Weiss and Ruby as they got them ready for the operation. They had to go quickly before they actually **did** have a classic birth, which would be a horrible idea.

Yang tried not to laugh as Weiss and Ruby were both put on IVs, pain killers slowly being pumped into their systems as they got ready for the c sections.

Fifteen minutes passed before all of the doctors were ready, and the operation was about to start.

"Are you four ready?" a doctor asked.

Blake glanced between her three wives, a grin growing across her lips.

"Yeah. Yeah, we're ready," she breathed.

Ruby and Weiss both let out slightly drunken laughs as they agreed, and Yang cheered.

The doctors had everyone in the room (the Schnee siblings, Sun, Blake, and Yang) change into more hygienic clothing so that they could be there. And by hygienic clothing, they simply met clean ones. The babies had to be born in safe, sterile environment.

Finally, they were all ready for the two operations.

They were going to be there to watch the seven brought into the world!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, had to be scientifically accurate :P
> 
> Had you going, didn't I?


	101. The Birth

Yang was bouncing off the walls with excitement, but she was forcing herself to stand still as Weiss tightened her grip on her mechanical arm.

"Are you scared?" Yang asked.

"Of course I'm scared! They're cutting into my stomach!" Weiss hissed.

"Oh... that... does kind of sound scary now that I think about it," Yang said slowly. "But... think about it this way! You're going to get to meet our **babies** today, Weiss! And wouldn't you do **anything** to meet them?"

Weiss hesitated before she nodded, a small smile on her face.

"Yeah... I would."

"Then instead of thinking about how scary this whole thing is, think about how **amazing** it's going to be to finally see their cute little faces!" Yang replied with ease.

Weiss smiled and nodded, letting out a shaky breath.

"You're right... I'm ready.

Blake and Yang hurried into position, standing between the two women that were about to have their operations. Blake had her hand in Ruby's own, her other set on Weiss' shoulder. Yang was letting her mechanical arm be squeezed by Weiss, her other hand set on Ruby's calf calmingly.

"I love you three so much," Blake whispered as the doctors got ready.

Her wives echoed the sentiment to one another before the operation began.

Weiss' incision was cut first, and the former heiress let out a groan. Her siblings were standing at her side comfortingly, but she hardly noticed as the doctor reached in to grab the first baby.

All eyes were on the first born child as the doctor lifted her into the air. She was slowly passed to the nearest parent.

Blake let out a gasp as she took the baby faunus into her arms, holding her gently where all could see. Yang reached out and put a hand on the baby's leg, rubbing her thumb on it in disbelief.

Weiss stared at the baby in disbelief, as if she hadn't really expected this moment to come.

"Adolpha," Weiss whispered.

"Look at her ears!" Ruby whispered.

They all did so as the baby's eyes opened slowly, blinking up at Blake, one hand reaching up toward her. Adolpha had a second pair of ears on top of her head, which flickered as the wind hit them for the second time.

She was a wolf faunus.

"Why isn't she crying?" Yang whispered.

The doctors had all paused, all clearly wondering why Adolpha was strangely silent.

Blake started to purr, and the baby started to squirm suddenly, reaching one little hand up toward her.

The doctors hurried over to Blake and took the baby. When she was pulled from Blake's arms, Adolpha finally began to cry at full volume, and she was quickly passed back to the cat faunus, who let out a quiet soothing sound, her purr filling the room.

There was a beat of silence from everyone before Blake slowly passed Adolpha to Yang, who took her gently. The baby didn't cry this time, having fallen silent once more, and looked up at the blond with a strange sort of knowing in her eyes, as if she knew her. Adolpha took a few sniffs before she sneezed and began to cry quietly again.

The doctors returned to Weiss, reaching down to grab the second baby, which they pulled out into the world. This baby cried immediately, squirming in their arms as they gently cut the umbilical cord, as they had done with Adolpha before.

This baby was passed to Yang, who had given Adolpha to Weiss, the former heiress was holding the wolf faunus gently.

Yang let out a soothing noise as the second born squirmed in her arms for a moment.

"Jin," Yang whispered. "Little Jin."

Jin looked up at Yang, her cries quieting just a bit.

Yang went to pass her to Blake, and the baby suddenly cried louder, and her skin shifted, and Yang let out a small cry of shock. Adolpha started crying at the loud noise, setting off Jin, whose skin continued to glow yellow.

"Blake, what's with her skin?" Yang whispered as she passed the second baby to the cat faunus.

Blake took Jin, who squirmed more. Blake began to purr, and the skin shifted back to normal, revealing it to be pink and very human-looking.

"They're... they're scales," Blake breathed. "She's a faunus."

"What kind?" Ruby asked excitedly. Adolpha had recently been passed to her, and she was currently running her hand gently down her wolf ears.

"I... I don't know," Blake said softly as she gave Jin to Weiss.

"We can do a blood test later," one of the doctors said before they returned to Weiss, grabbing the third baby.

This baby was given to Ruby immediately, Adolpha in Blake's grasp now while Jin was in Weiss'.

All four of them were crying, but none seemed to notice as Ruby stared at the third born child, the first son.

"It's Akio," Ruby whispered, pulling her son closer to her chest and letting him lay on top of her gently. He was still crying, quite loudly too, and Adolpha cried as well. Blake continued to purr, and Adolpha pulled closer to her, silencing herself. It seemed as if Blake's purrs had affected the first born the most, probably because of her faunus ears, which had let her hear it the best from the womb.

Akio was still crying loudly, but Adolpha and Jin had quieted some. Ruby couldn't tell if Akio was a faunus, he could be a surprise like Jin was, but she didn't find herself caring as she stared down at her son.

After a moment, he was passed to Yang, who tried to soothe his tears with quiet shushing and bouncing him up and down gently.

The doctors finally grabbed the fourth and final quadruplet, whom they passed to Weiss. As the doctors stitched up her, Weiss was completely distracted by the fourth quadruplet, who was crying loudly still.

"Aella," Weiss whispered gently, running her thumb gently across her daughter's face. "They're all so beautiful."

Weiss' wives nodded in agreement, all silently looking at the four quadruplets. They each had one in their arms, but their gazes were moving about as they attempted to look at each as much as they possibly could, wanting to remember their faces and this moment for the rest of their lives.

Aella looked relatively normal... by that Weiss meant that she didn't see any faunus traits-

Aella suddenly stopped her crying and sneezed. As soon as she did, fur appeared at her sides and puffed out between her arms and legs at her side.

"What... what just happened?" Weiss whispered.

Aella had gone back to normal after her sneeze, and had begun to cry as well.

"I don't know," Blake replied, passing Akio to Weiss before taking Aella to look at her closely. She tilted the baby some so that she could see her sides, where the fur had appeared a moment ago. There was nothing there. "We'll... have to wait for tests for her too, I guess."

The doctors hurried over and took Aella and Jin, both of them starting to cry. Adolpha squirmed at the sound and cried as well.

Aella and Jin both started to take their shots and have their blood drawn.

Aella's were all completed relatively quickly, but Jin kept crying and her skin transformed back into scales whenever they tried to get her blood drawn. She had clearly learned her lesson on how much needles hurt from the shots, and didn't want to take this one.

After several trial and error sessions, the doctors finally distracted Jin with a toy before drawing her blood quickly.

The other two babies, Adolpha and Akio, were taken a minute later to get the same shots and blood drawing.

Once they were done, the four babies were then placed in little cribs.

Winter, Whitley, and Sun all hurried over to look at the babies and to hold them while the doctors go ready to preform the other operation.

Blake held one of Ruby's hands while Ruby reached across the distance between her and Weiss' bed to hold her other wife's hand. Yang was on her sister's other side so that she could put her hand on Ruby's leg without getting in the way of Weiss.

The doctors began the incision, and began to careful remove the first baby, whom they passed to Weiss.

Ruby gasped as she saw the baby, leaning a bit closer to Weiss so that she could see her better.

"Crystal," Weiss breathed gently.

The baby was already crying, and she looked up at Weiss.

"Look at her tail," Ruby breathed, setting one hand on Crystal's stomach as she looked at her.

Blake was passed the first triplet next, and she looked down at Crystal lovingly.

"Snow leopard. She's a snow leopard faunus," she breathed.

"Aw!" Ruby whispered. "She looks just like you, Blakey!"

"Because she's a feline faunus?" Blake asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not just because of that," Ruby said. "Look at her face. She's like a little baby version of you with a little white tail."

Blake chuckled at the words, passing Crystal over to Ruby, who grabbed Yang and held the baby cat faunus with her.

The next baby was taken out by the doctors and passed to Weiss this time.

"Lavey," Weiss whispered, reaching one hand up so that she could run her thumb over the second triplet's face.

Lavey didn't appear to be a faunus either, but she supposed looks could be deceiving, such as Aella had been. She was small, smaller than any of the other babies had been, which made Weiss a little nervous to hold her, but she supposed that was alright as long as she held her gently.

After a moment of staring at the youngest daughter, she was passed over to Ruby.

Crystal had been taken for her shots and blood testing, and Lavey would follow soon after, but for the moment Lavey was passed along between her four mothers.

The doctors finally removed the final baby, who was passed to Ruby and Yang to hold together.

"Auburn," Ruby whispered. "Little Auburn."

Finally, all seven of them were there in front of them.

Everything was how it should be with the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you yell at me, I'm going to go into more detail about their appearances in the next chapter, which, coincidentally, will be the final one in this part.
> 
> Anyone have any ideas for what to name the next part?


	102. The Babies

Weiss and Ruby were finally back to their normal states, having fallen asleep for about half an hour as they got the painkillers out of their system, and the first thing they wanted to do was look at their babies again, get a good look at them.

Blake and Yang had grabbed the first baby, deciding to go in order of birth as they showed the newly awakened mothers their children.

That meant that first was Adolpha.

She still wasn't crying, even as she was passed from person to person, but her ears did twitch occasionally when there were loud noises nearby her. She wasn't an exceptionally large baby, but she didn't appear to be premature either. She was wrapped in a pink blanket at the moment, wearing a diaper that Yang had put on her underneath the cloth. Adolpha's ears were a light shade of gray and seemed to have a mind of their own, twitching around to and fro. Adoplha didn't see to want to stay laying down, sometimes trying to roll over (Blake had screamed in horror the first time she had seen this happen, even though Adolpha had failed miserably to do so) or reach toward her parents with her tiny little hands (Ruby found that **adorable** and hadn't shut up about it since she'd seen her).

Adolpha's eyes were a perplexing shade of gray. At first, this had caused commotion from Yang and Ruby, considering Ruby hadn't contributed to the dust that had made Adolpha, but the confusion had slowly eased when they realized that her eyes were **not** silver, but instead a much lighter shade of gray, so much so that it could almost be considered white. She seemed to see around her with wisdom that she shouldn't have as a newborn, and kept staring at nothing in particular, but the doctors had assured a panicking Blake that that was perfectly normal and that she shouldn't worry for her first born.

Adolpha's head had more hair on it than would be expected from most babies, though not too much so, and the hair was, oddly, the same shade of light grayish white that her eyes were. Ruby thought it was cute that their newborn had graying hair like an old woman, but Ruby seemed to think that anything and everything about any of their children was adorable and cute.

Adolpha also seemed to react quite consistently to Blake's purring, much more so than any of the other children, which was likely because of her wolf ears. Her blood test had come back earlier to prove that Blake had been right about the subspecies of faunus Adolpha had been.

Adolpha was not fussy, that's for sure. She hadn't cried since all of her siblings had been born, and the only thing that seemed to upset her was loud noise or being pulled away from her purring mother. Blake had noticed this and make quiet plans to make their nursery room sound proof so that her first born wouldn't have to hear anything from outside. It would be safe if they got a baby monitor, which she planned to pick up on the way home whenever they left.

The final notable fact about the first born that the fuor had discussed had been her Aura color. All of their children had had their Auras unlocked by either their parents or one of the other people in the room (Winter or Sun, considering the youngest Schnee didn't know how). Adolpha's own Aura was a light shade of gray that matched both her hair and eyes.

Once the four had been able to get a good look at Adolpha, they gently set her back down in her crib so that they could look at the second born, Jin.

Jin was far larger than Adolpha, for a baby, that is. She was the largest one of the bunch by more than an inch of height, and was heavier as well. Her eyes were a familiar shade of lilac that made Yang gasp and stare at them with tears in her own, matching colored eyes. Despite her also being a faunus, she didn't have the extra hair like Adolpha did, but she definitely had some, and the strands were all a light shade of blond, similar to Yang's own, though that could be temporary, considering most children had their hair grow darker as they aged into their toddler years. Despite her coloring being reminiscent of Yang, she looked facially similar to Weiss, and her faunus nature proved that **something** had passed down from Blake to her.

Her blood test **had** shown that she was, in fact, a faunus, and had even revealed what type, despite Blake not being certain when she had first seen her. Jin was an armadillo faunus, and the scales that would occasionally appear in place of her skin had been her faunus trait. Blake had found the discovery amazing, considering she had never met a faunus the same type as Jin. When her Aura had been shown, having been unlocked by Blake herself, it had revealed that Jin's Aura color was a dirty blond color, which matched her dark yellowish brown scales that still appeared whenever the armadillo faunus got scared or surprised.

They had learned how to summon her scales the hard way, when Yang had been passing Jin to Ruby and the faunus had gotten scared. Her scales hadn't retreated back into her skin for almost fifteen minutes, and she had to be soothed by her mothers for a long time to get her comfortable enough to reveal her skin again. When her scales had been shown instead of her skin, she had been rough to the touch, her scales significantly colder than her skin typically was. Blake had wondered aloud if the faunus had her scales underneath her skin and they were revealed when Jin got scared, or if perhaps her skin actually changed into scales instead. Blake had made a mental note to ask Ilia, as she was the closest type of faunus Blake knew to Jin.

After they had looked at their second born child for a long few minutes, they finally decided to grab the third born and first son, Akio.

Akio was a normal sized baby, not very big like Jin and not very small like Lavey. His blood test had returned as well as the others, revealing that he was their first non-faunus baby, but Ruby didn't seem to mind. She still grabbed onto him excitedly, but exceedingly gently, and held him in her arms while talking about how absolutely **adorable** he was (like she did with each and every one of their children, without fail). She didn't seem put out that he wasn't a faunus, and none of the others did either. He didn't seem to have any striking features like his older sisters did, no faunus abilities or oddly colored eyes/hair. He looked surprisingly normal for having been made out of dust mixing the Aura of three women.

His eyes were, however, a perplexing shade of brown, which didn't make sense for their son to have, considering none of his parents did. That didn't really matter, though, considering their first born's eyes were almost **white** , which made _no_ sense. Apart from that, he was, still, largely normal in appearance. He cried like most babies, not too much like Jin and not too little like Adolpha, and had the normal amount of hair for a child his age. Said hair was a light shade of brown, as if it had been mixed between Blake and Weiss' own shades to create his own.

His Aura had been unlocked by Yang, and it was a light shade of green. It was a pale color, not neon in any sense of the word, and wouldn't have been noticeable if he hadn't been the only child having his Aura unlocked at the time.

Despite his deceptively normal exterior, his parents were convinced that they would find something weird about him when he was older, considering he was **their** child, after all, and the four women knew that there was bound to be something that would show their weirdness making an impression on their son.

He had fallen silent, perplexingly so, and gone still in Weiss' arms, looking around for a moment with a dazed look in his eyes.

Other than that, the four hadn't been able to mention much about their first born son, who was wrapped in a tiny blue blanket.

The four had felt guilty at not being astounded about him like they had with the first two, and laid on the bed with him a little longer than they had with his older sisters, just to make him feel loved. Even if he was a bit less... abnormal than their other children, that didn't mean that they would treat him any different. They still loved him equally to the others, and wanted to make sure **all** of their children knew that from a young age.

They finally grabbed the fourth and final quadruplet and held Aella in between them as they laid on the bed they'd made (which was just the two medical beds shoved together so that the four could lay on them together without squishing someone too much or causing one of them to fall off).

Aella was small, almost as much so as her sister Lavey, and was wrapped in a pink blanket. She looked up at Ruby unblinkingly, and she realized that the youngest quadruplet had surprisingly large eyes, which seemed to be attempting to stare into her soul. Said eyes were a light shade of yellow, much like Blake's own. The eyes seemed to match with the fur that could extend from between her arms and legs, also, conveniently, matching the type of faunus she was. Her subspecies was even more foreign to Blake, but she supposed that made sense, considering it was **their** child. She was, of all things.... a **sugar glider** faunus... which... Blake had had to look up on her scroll. It was basically a cuter version of a flying squirrel. That meant that her faunus trait was the little gliders on the sides of the sugar gliders. That was... interesting, Blake supposed. She wondered how well her daughter would get to use those, considering they weren't wings, but... it was definitely intriguing to think about. The fur on her sides, when it appeared, was black and white, which matched the small bit of hair on top of her head, making her look like, to quote Yang, "the baby version of a salt and pepper shaker." Ruby had slapped her for saying that before saying that she herself thought that Aella looked **adorable**.

Her Aura seemed brilliantly bright when it was unlocked by Sun, shining a brilliant red.

Aella seemed to be exceedingly playful, as she was constantly making the fur gliders at her side appear randomly and then making little baby giggles. When she wasn't doing that, she was playing with something she could reach. Yang had held her fingers above the baby's head and wiggled her fingers above Aella's head. Aella had laughed again and reached her hands up to play with them, even though she couldn't reach.

At another point, Blake had been holding Aella with one hand and fixing the baby's hair with the other. Aella had tilted her head back and opened her mouth, latching onto Blake's finger and trying to suckle on it. Blake had almost shrieked at the action, but had stopped herself when she realized what was happening. She'd started to laugh instead, letting the youngest quadruplet have her fun and play with her finger.

Weiss had noted that it seemed like Aella had gotten some of her playfulness from Yang, who had pretended to be offended, but really been excited at the prospect of her daughter already taking after her in personality, though she wasn't completely certain if that was a good thing.

When Yang had tried to put Aella back in her crib, she started to cry, obviously wanting attention, and Blake had had to pull Adolpha into her arms and start purring to keep the wolf faunus from crying. Blake was starting to wonder if they'd need to somehow cover their first born daughter's ears so that she wouldn't have to deal with her sensitive hearing.

After they'd clamed down Aella, they grabbed the next child to be born, the first of the triplets.

Crystal was laying on Weiss chest, being held by the former heiress gently so as not to harm her. Crystal had already fallen asleep, after just a little over an hour of being out in the real world.

The oldest triplet looked, you guessed it, **adorable** in Ruby's opinion. She was a faunus, and a snow leopard, just as Blake had predicted. She was about Adolpha's size, but her tail made her seem much larger. Her tail was fluffy, which was something that Ruby had almost squealed at (but she had been silenced by her sister clapping a hand over her mouth to make sure that she didn't wake any of their babies up), and the tail was white with black spots on it.

Unlike her tail, her hair was platinum white, and Weiss could almost see a vision of the future, helping her daughter learn how to put her hair up in a ponytail like herself, perhaps because their hair was so similar in color. But that wasn't the only color they had in common. Crystal's Aura was a light shade of blue that exactly matched Weiss' own. The former heiress smiled at the color, wondering if the Schnee family would live on in Crystal in a way that it wouldn't with her siblings. If her Aura was the typical one for Weiss' family, her old family, not the one she had just created with the loves of her life, then maybe her semblance would be too. It would be especially amazing to be able to teach her daughter her own semblance.

Ruby had stared at the oldest triplet for a long while, wondering if she'd ever see any of herself in her daughter. Crystal was the first one that had been actually made from Ruby's Aura, and she was starting to think that-

Ruby suddenly gasped as she stared down at her daughter, her fourth born daughter that is because dang it those other children were hers too and the day she said they weren't was the day she had somehow become the next super villain bent on destroying the entire world.

Crystal looked up, and her gaze met Ruby's own. She was met with silver orbs that were a direct reflection of her own. Crystal had her eyes.

Ruby giggled quietly and reached down to cradle her child.

Ruby loved seeing the bits of her wife, and even her sister, in their children, because seeing parts of your loved one in their child was... magical. But Ruby also enjoyed seeing bits of herself as well.

But seeing them all mixed together?

It was the most wonderful sight she had ever beheld.

Together, they had made their children, and now Ruby would get to see those children grow up...

It was the most wonderful gift that Ruby had ever imagined.

A moment later, Blake and Yang set down the first born triplet and grabbed the second one, Lavey.

Lavey was small, far too small for any of them to feel as comfortable holding her as they did with the others, except perhaps Aella.

She was similar to her older brother, Akio, in the fact that she wasn't a faunus, as her blood test had revealed. But, unlike him, she didn't exactly look... normal. Her hair was a perplexing shade of red, so much so that it could even be considered _crimson_ like blood. Ruby thought that the color was simply **amazing** , not knowing where she had gotten the trait for that hair color from, but enjoying seeing her daughter with her favorite color as the shade of her hair. If anyone had walked past someone on the street with that shade of hair, they would have assumed that it was dyed that way, but they knew for a fact that it was natural, as all three had watched her be born. Her eyes juxtaposed the hair color even more, the silver color seeming to serve only the purpose of opposing the red of her hair.

Her Aura had been shown when it was unlocked, and it was a dark shade of magenta, as if it was a mix of red and purple that had been created through the use of Blake and Ruby's.

Ruby had mentioned something about Lavey's size only serving to make her look cuter than she would have otherwise.

It was quite clear to anyone that looked that Lavey was a premature baby, due to her very small size, but the doctors had assured the very worried Blake that Lavey was perfectly healthy, and that she wouldn't look as small in a few weeks.

Due to her small size, Blake had been extra cautious with her youngest daughter, letting out quiet sounds of fear whenever someone other than herself or her wives came within a two foot radius of the baby. Despite that, Blake had assured her wives that she was **not** worried about the youngest girl, and instead just wanted everyone to be careful because they were _"still less than a day old oh my dust Sun no you can't throw her up and down like she's a toddler get out of the room!"_

When Blake and Yang went to put Lavey up, the cat faunus had gone over to look at each of the other seven babies and flipped them onto their backs so that they could fall asleep without the four mothers freaking out about wondering if they were going to die in their sleep.

Yang had then grabbed their final child, Auburn, and carried him over to the other three, laying back down on the bed gently.

Auburn was crying quietly, he didn't seem like a screamed, they could all remember how quiet his cries had been. He was a regular-sized baby, not super small like Lavey or incredibly large like Jin, and he actually looked a little like Akio... at least facially. His eyes were yellow like Blake's, contrasting Akio's brown ones, and his hair was much darker than Akio's light brown, appearing more black. Unlike his older, and only, brother, he was also a faunus, despite his appearance. That left Lavey and Akio as the only ones without their own faunus traits, and Auburn as the only son with one.

Said faunus trait had taken the doctors a long time to figure out, and Ruby had actually been the one that had given them the idea.

Auburn's blood test had revealed that he was a swordfish faunus, but they hadn't found anything on him that suggested he was.

Finally, Ruby had said _"why don't we just dump some water on him and figure it out?"_

Blake and Yang had laughed while Weiss rolled her eyes, but the doctors had taken a moment to consider Ruby's words.

Finally, the doctors had gotten a small drop of water and placed it on Auburn. A moment later, Auburn's neck had wriggled in a way that no human's could, and a pair of gills emerged into view.

The four women had stared at it in shock before Ruby had cheered in excitement. She'd never seen a faunus like that before!

Auburn didn't show any sign of being a faunus until the moment he sensed water, at which point he seemed to instinctively opened his gills. The four assumed that, when he was older he'd be able to control this ability, but for the time being it was still left instinctive.

He let out a small sound as Weiss pulled her son closer, setting him down between herself and Ruby with a small smile. She was reminded of his Aura color as she looked down at the swordfish faunus.

It had been a dark shade of navy blue, which had lit up the room when it was unlocked.

He was starting to fall asleep in Weiss' arms, and Blake took the opportunity to move closer and inspect his gills. They weren't visible at the moment, but she had thought that she might be able to see just the little indents of them, but she supposed that they were closed at the moment. She wondered if he could use both his lungs **and** his gills at the same time, but she'd have to have that tested when he was **far** older, considering she didn't want to risk it any time soon.

Not when this was the happiest she'd ever been.

As Blake gently set their youngest down in his crib, making sure that he was laying on his back to keep him from getting harmed in his sleep, she found a smile drawing across her lips.

Their whole family was finally here together, the moment peaceful and perfect.

Blake curled up on the bed with her wives, eyes slowly falling shut as she did so.

Just as she was about to fall asleep, wrapped up in Yang's arms, there was a piercing cry that echoed through the room.

All four new mothers jumped, Ruby almost falling out of the bed, and rubbed at their eyes.

Okay, so it wasn't peaceful, but it was still perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annnnddd....
> 
> that's a wrap! How'd you guys like it?!


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